It was an upset special and a special upset victory for the Green Bay Phoenix Monday night. GB snapped it’s 14 game losing streak by beating in-state rival Milwaukee on the Panthers floor in an 80-79 overtime thriller. The win is Green Bay’s first since December 14 and the first for interim Head Coach Freddie Owens who had more than 60 friends and family at the Klotsche Center to witness it. The Milwaukee native who starred at Marshall High School took over for the fired Will Ryan last month as Green Bay was suffering through it’s worst season in program history. With a bit of luck and school record long range shooting, the Phoenix finally prevailed. Davin Ziegler’s three point basket with 1.1 left in regulation forced the game into overtime and with time running out in OT, Ziegler again came through, hitting a jumper from the left wing with 0.7 left in the extra period for the win. Randy Tucker put up a career high 20 for GB, Ziegler had 18 and Brock Hefner added 17. Owens said afterwards it “was very sweet” to realize a dream of having his first college victory come in his hometown. The Phoenix picked up just their third win of the year against 22 losses, they now stand 2-12 in Horizon League play. They broke a school single game record by knocking down 16 three point shots in the game. The Panthers got 28 points from B.J. Freeman but they fall out of a share of first in the conference race at 10-4, one game behind league leading Youngstown State. Milwaukee is now 16-8 overall.
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