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MADISON, Wis.—In an extremely spirited Kohl Center finale
against Purdue on Sunday, Wisconsin fans and teammates got one last chance to
cheer on the three Badger seniors. With the 82-46 victory and highlights galore,
it was a near perfect ending for guard Ike Ukawuba, center Dave Mader and guard
Freddie Owens.
Mader and Owens got the chance to make their final
impression on the Kohl Center right away. Both were in the starting lineup and
helped the Badgers keep a controlling lead over the Boilermakers in the
relatively uneventful first half. Owens contributed early in the half with a
layup and jumper in the paint and even helped out fellow-senior Mader with an
assist at the nine minutes and 50 seconds mark. Mader’s bucket resulted in his
only points of the half and helped put the Badgers up 20-12.
Not only did Wisconsin run away with the game during the
second half, but the seniors received the chance to display everything that they
had been working on for four or five years. During one play at the 17-minute,
32-second mark, Mader used a left-handed hook shot over Purdue senior forward
Brett Buscher to raise the crowd to a euphoric level and put the Badgers on top
37-23. Then, after a missed jumper by Purdue senior guard Kenneth Lowe, Mader
grabbed the rebound, further revving up the capacity crowd. At the other end of
the court, junior guard Devin Harris hit a 3-pointer, forcing Purdue head coach
Gene Keady to call a timeout.
At this point, the Badgers were on the way to their 28th
straight home victory and the Kohl Center erupted to a near deafening roar. The
fans continued to show their appreciation for the remainder of the game.
“I’ll tell you, that last 10 minutes out there was as loud
as this place has been since I’ve been here,” Badger head coach Bo Ryan said.
“And that was in appreciation… when they hang up the uniform, when we’re done,
they can be so proud of the fact that they played on a team that went undefeated
at home … that’s quite an accomplishment.”
Besides Mader being a crowd favorite, chants of “We want
Ike”, emanating from the student section, could also be heard throughout the
Kohl Center. Ryan responded to the chants and put Ukawuba in with four minutes,
29 seconds left in place of sophomore guard Boo Wade. Two possessions later, he
really gave the crowd something to cheer about. Ukawuba took a dish from Harris,
set up for a long two and found nothing but the bottom of the net for his first
points this season. He was not finished. He took it to the paint later in the
half and worked the lane against Lowe to finish with four points, tying his
career high. Ukawuba went 2-for-3 from the field and grabbed one board.
Both Ukawuba and Mader left the game with 34 seconds left
and received a standing ovation. Mader finished the game with five rebounds and
four points on 2 of 3 shooting.
After departing the game with three minutes and 29 seconds
left after getting poked in the eye, it looked as though Owens had played his
final minutes at home. He was far from finished though and returned to the game
with 34 seconds left for one last hoorah. With 29 seconds remaining, freshman
guard Kammron Taylor found Owens wide open on the break and he slammed one home
for his, and the team’s, final points of the 2003-04 home season.
“We normally set up in our press break because we knew they
were going to press us,” Owens said. “My job was just to run down the floor and
take someone with me but I found myself open and Kamm passed me the ball. I’ll
always remember that my last shot was a dunk of the last home game. It’s a
pretty good feeling.”
Owens ended up with six points on 3-for-6 shooting and
added an assist and a steal.
Whether they slammed one final drunk home, filled up the
lane or got their first points of the season, Owens, Mader and Ukawuba proved to
be the crowd favorites on Sunday and will surely be missed next year.
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Related stories
Badgers clamp down,
blow out Purdue - game story
Senior Salute -
sidebar
Quite a turn of
events - game notes
Photo gallery 1
- Senior Day - Matthew Kutz
Photo gallery 2
- Matthew Kutz
Photo gallery 3
- Associated Press
Wisconsin 82, Purdue
46 - line score