Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wis.-Mil./Wisconsin Wisconsin Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin interim coach Brad Soderberg saw a lot of things he didn't like Saturday night against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but the final score wasn't one of them.

The Badgers (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) struggled mightily in the second half of a 55-47 victory.

Roy Boone scored 15 points and Charlie Wills had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Wisconsin (7-1).

Despite leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Badgers weren't able to put the game away until going on a 10-3 run down the stretch.

"There are a lot of reasons for me to be disappointed with the way we played," said Soderberg, 5-0 since taking over for the retired Dick Bennett. "But I can't tell you how thankful and happy I am that we won.

"These games are very difficult for the Badgers. I think our guys feel like if we don't win these games, since it's the Big Ten versus a lesser conference, that they're going to take some heat for it. And I feel the same way. So to win the game, I'm happy."

What Soderberg was less than ecstatic about was the Badgers' offense in the second half. Wisconsin was held scoreless the first seven minutes and made just three field goals in the entire half, shooting just 23 percent.

That allowed the Panthers (5-4) to rally and twice tie the game, the final time coming at 34-34 with nine minutes remaining.

Boone then put Wisconsin ahead to stay with two free throws. The Badgers scored 18 of their 25 second-half points on free throws.

Still, the Panthers trailed just 45-44 after a jumper by Clay Tucker with just under 3 minutes remaining. But they wouldn't score again until the final seconds, as the Badgers went on an 8-0 run to secure the victory.

"That was a heck of a college game," said Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Bo Ryan, a Wisconsin assistant for eight years. "You couldn't ask for much more as far as floor burns and such.

"These were two teams that were not bashful in terms of playing aggressive and playing hard, and I think the shooting percentages were indicative of that.

"We had some shots the last two minutes that were open, but they just didn't go. They wore us down, just like we tried to wear them down."

Tucker, in foul trouble much of the night, led Wisconsin-Milwaukee with 13 points. Reserves Jason Frederick and Justin Lettenberger had 10 points apiece.

The Panthers shot just 31.4 percent for the game, while the Badgers hit 40 percent.

The Panthers relied on 3-point shooting for almost all of their offense in the first half. They hit 7 of 15 attempts to score 21 of their 25 first-half points went into halftime trailing 30-25.

After scoring their first points on a driving layup by Kolombo Kadima, the Panthers didn't score another 2-point basket until Frederick broke free for a layup with 3:50 remaining in the half. That triggered an 11-2 run for the Panthers before halftime.

The game was the last for the Badgers without senior forward Maurice Linton and junior guard Travon Davis, suspended for eight games apiece by the NCAA for receiving extra benefits in purchases of discount shoes. They will be eligible to play Saturday when Wisconsin takes on Marquette.

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