363. No, it’s not a YouTube documentary or a ranking system that plagues the Green Bay Phoenix this year. 363 represents the days that have passed since the Phoenix were at one of their lowest points in program history. Second year head coach Doug Gottlieb quizzed the assembled media in his postgame press conference last night, following Green Bay’s 76-59 win over Purdue Fort Wayne, that was broadcast to a national audience on ESPN2, asking “I don’t know if any of you know what tomorrow marks, anyone in this room remember what tomorrow marks?”
Green Bay’s CBS affiliate (WFRV) reporter Kyle Malzhan answered (mostly) correctly: it was the day (before) the Phoenix dropped their 21st game in a row last season, en route to a 4-28 record. Gottlieb confirmed the answer, which you can see below, talking about how much of a low point it was–his car got hit by the Northern Kentucky bus, then hit by a snowplow the following day, which he then got a ticket for because his car still had the temporary dealer plates on it.
Now, 363 days later, his team won a huge game with a national audience, firmly placing Green Bay in a position where, thanks to some help around the league, the Phoenix may be able to snag the regular season Horizon League title. The win gives Green Bay some breathing room at least, putting them closer to landing a first round bye in the conference tournament, and in position to host the quarterfinal game at the Kress Center.
The Phoenix got out to a strong start, jumping out to a 13-0 lead before Corey Hadnot II got the Mastodons on the scoreboard with a dunk. In what would become a common theme for the game, Green Bay did their early scoring either in the paint, or at the free throw line. The Phoenix continued to put their foot on the gas, using a formula any basketball purist would love: score a bucket at the rim, get the home crowd to make a lot of noise on the defensive end, get a stop on the defensive end, and repeat.
As the midway point of the first half loomed, just prior to the under-12 minute media stoppage, Justin Allen hit his stride, scoring five points in a row for Green Bay on his way to a 20 point first half. Though a few other Phoenix players would score, the formula remained the same: find the cutter, make the pass, finish at the rim. As the half wore on, Green Bay was able to keep the lead in double figures, with Marcus Hall splashing a three before DeAndre Craig answered back with a long ball, prompting Green Bay to use the “use it or lose it” timeout and bring on the final media break of the first half.
At that point, the Mastodons had trimmed Green Bay’s advantage down to just 12 points, though that would be as close as the game got the rest of the way. Allen continued the scoring onslaught, highlighted by scoring with 0:29 left in the period, pumping up the crowd one more time in the opening stanza, then leaking out in transition as Ramel Bethea came up with a Preston Ruedinger steal in the final seconds and making a layup through contact to earn an and-1. Allen converted the three point play, and the Phoenix took a 42-23 lead to the locker room.
The Mastodons came out of the break, determined to cut into the lead. On Purdue Fort Wayne’s opening possession, Maximus Nelson drilled a three-pointer. CJ O’Hara went to the free throw line on Green Bay’s end, but Craig scored on the ensuing Mastodons possession to answer back. While some may have feared a Purdue Fort Wayne comeback, as has haunted Green Bay in games past, once again it was Allen who took the lead. He would score six points in a row, a personal run to give the Phoenix their biggest lead of the game at 22 points. Mikale Stevenson ended the run, but not Allen’s scoring streak, as he would score the next Green Bay bucket.
Purdue Fort Wayne and Green Bay matched buckets for much of the remainder of the contest as the Phoenix kept the Mastodons at bay. Allen finished off his scoring efforts by hitting threes on back to back possessions, which put Green Bay up by 21 with just under 7 minutes to go in the contest. In the final stretch of the game, it was Hall scoring 6 of the Phoenix’s final 7 points to ice the game before Green Bay took a shot clock violation with 0:22 left and emptied their bench, much to the cheers of the Green Bay student section, as Brady Fitzgerald appeared in his first game in over a month.
Allen finished the contest with 34 points to lead all scorers. Hall added 15, with O’Hara also scoring 14 to round out double figure scoring efforts for the Phoenix. As a team, Green Bay shot 23 of 28 from the free throw line and a blistering 25 of 43 from the field, with 21 of those 25 makes coming from inside the paint. Hadnot II’s 16 points led the way for Purdue Fort Wayne in the loss. After the game, Allen and Gottlieb spoke with the media, which you can see below.
With the win, Green Bay moves to 15-12 overall and 10-6 in Horizon League play. The Phoenix will travel south on I-43 for their second matchup against Milwaukee on Sunday, with a 2pm CT tipoff from UWM Panther Arena.
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