Wis.-Milwaukee 84, N. Dakota St. 73

Published Dec. 17, 2009 5:02 a.m. ET

foxsports

Ricky Franklin scored 19 of his season-high 23 points in the first half Saturday to lead Wisconsin-Milwaukee to an 84-73 victory over North Dakota State.

James Eayrs added 15 points and Ja'Rob McCallum scored 13 for the Panthers (7-4), who outrebounded North Dakota State 40-28.

Josh Vaughan made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 19 points for NDSU (4-5). Eric Carlson added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Bison.

Milwaukee made four of its first six 3-pointers to take a 24-13 lead. The Panthers led 50-41 at halftime despite North Dakota State shooting 62 percent.

The Bison cut it to 30-29 on a Nate Zastrow 3-pointer with 7:17 left, but the Panthers answered with a 16-4 run over the next 4 1/2 minutes to build a 13-point lead, 46-33.

Milwaukee led by as many as 14 in the second half and NDSU got no closer than seven down the stretch.