Green Bay's Cotton Lights Up Akron with 36 in 70-66 Victory

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AKRON, Ohio - Senior Troy Cotton (Milwaukee, Wis.) refused to let Green Bay (22-12) bow out of the first round of this year's College Basketball Invitational, as he scored a career-high 36 points to steer the Phoenix to a 70-66 victory at Akron (24-11). Green Bay has equaled its victory total from last year, the highest since the team won 25 in the 1995-96 campaign.

Cotton matched a school record with nine 3-pointers made and his 36 points were the eighth-highest in school history and most since former Phoenix Ryan Tillema poured in 36 points (and nine made threes), at Valparaiso on Jan. 24, 2009.

Cotton, who accounted for more than half of the team's points, was the only Green Bay player in double figures. Cotton went 9-for-16 from beyond the arc, while the rest of the team combined to go 0-for-10.

Green Bay trailed by seven, 52-45, with 5:30 minutes remaining, but surged into the lead by scoring on its next three possessions, two of which resulted in Cotton 3-pointers. Cotton accumulated 14 points in the final 5 ½ minutes to top his previous career best by 11 points.

The Phoenix trailed 24-23 at halftime after a defensive-minded, slow-paced first half. Each team shot less than 35 percent in that stanza.

Green Bay outrebounded the Zips, who came into the game at +4 on the season in rebounding margin, by a 38-32 count.

With its first postseason win since the 1994 NCAA Tournament, Green Bay advances to the second round of the CBI and will play at Saint Louis (21-11) Monday at 8 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised live on HDNet.