For the third year in a row, Wisconsin-Green Bay gave UW a run for its money, and for the third-straight year, the Badgers came out on top, winning 73-57 Wednesday night at the Kohl Center.

“These guys come out and play hard every year,” UW guard Freddie Owens said. “We don’t overlook anybody.”

The Badgers began the game by opening up an 11-5 lead on the strength of five early points from Devin Harris.

Green Bay’s Matt Rohde connected on a 3-pointer just over five minutes into the game, bringing the Phoenix within one point at 11-10, but Harris answered right back with his second 3-pointer of the game.

That was Harris’s final contribution of the half because at the 11:55 mark, he was forced to the bench after picking up his second foul. UW did not miss a beat, however, as Boo Wade shifted to point and ran the offense for the final 12 minutes of the half. Wisconsin went on to out-score UW-Green Bay 23-15 with its leading scorer watching from the sidelines. Wade finished the first half with four points, four assists, three steals and zero turnovers. He upped those numbers to six points, five assists, four steals and one turnover for the game.

“I thought Boo did a good job, especially in shot-clock situations when the shot clock was getting down,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “He attacked the rim. He finished strong to the basket; that’s what I liked about it. I didn’t pop any Rolaids when Devin got two.”

UW pushed its lead to 10 at 27-17 with 6:28 remaining after a Mike Wilkinson lay-up, and extended the advantage to 40-25 at the half, as Wade drove to the basket and converted two lay-ups in the final two minutes.

The Badgers struggled at the line in the first period, hitting just four of 11 free throws. They finished the game shooting a mere 51.9 percent from the charity stripe.

“If you hit your first few, you tend to get a little bit of a groove,” Ryan said. “We didn’t do that.”

The Phoenix opened the second half with a 9-1 run, cutting the Badger lead to seven after a 3-point play from Javier Mendiburu. Zach Morley’s roommate at Indian Hills Community College the last two years, the flashy Mendiburu finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and four assists.

“He’s going to be a very good basketball player in our program,” UWGB head coach Tod Kowalcyzk said of Mendiburu. “He sees plays even before they happen, and with that he deserves to play as much as he has been playing, if not more.”

The Phoenix hit 54.2 percent of their field goals in the second half.

“We didn’t turn it over, we rebounded the ball and we attacked much more on offense,” Kowalcyzk said. “I thought that’s why we came out in the second half and played so well.”

Green Bay drew within six at 58-52 with 6:46 remaining, but that was as close as it got. Harris sank two free throws, and from that point on, the Badgers out-scored the Phoenix 13-5. Harris threw down a dunk with 32 seconds left to put an exclamation point on the victory.

The junior guard was the game’s high scorer with 18 points, despite playing only eight minutes in the first half. Owens chipped in 16, while Wilkinson added 12 points and three blocks.

Alando Tucker made his first game appearance of the season after sustaining a broken foot in preseason conditioning drills. The sophomore forward scored five points on two-of-three shooting in 12 minutes of action.

“They have veteran guys and a tremendous coach who play extremely disciplined,” Kowalcyzk said. “I think the biggest key to their team is they don’t foul, and they get fouled. They win basketball games at the foul line. They won the game tonight at the foul line. Even though they shot 51 percent at the foul line, they won the game there because they attempt so many.”

UW also got a boost from Morley, who sparked the team off the bench with six points and 10 rebounds.

“That’s why he got the extra minutes,” Ryan said. “Zach was all over the place. He cleaned up all the misses at the end.”

Brandon Morris led UWGB with 11 points.

Two years ago Wisconsin topped Green Bay 70-57, and last year the Badgers scraped out a 69-52 road victory over the Phoenix.

“It’s a hard-fought game, it’s a high-energy game,” Ryan said. “They know us, we know them.”

The Badgers will continue their in-state schedule as they take on UW-Milwaukee and Marquette.

“In the state, it’s a great first game for us,” Harris said. “I think it will get us prepared for the next two. They gave us a great run in the second half; now we just have to look to learn from it and try to get better for the next game.”