And the beat goes on.

The UW-Milwaukee Panthers' magical late-season run through the Horizon League continued Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena, where the Panthers earned the right to play for the gold with a 70-63 victory over Valparaiso in the semifinals of the league tournament.

Before an enthusiastic crowd of 7,431, the Panthers won their 10th straight league game and now will face their biggest challenge when they take on Butler in the title game Tuesday night at the Cell.

"To think about where we've come from and how we've arrived at this point is amazing," said UWM coach Rob Jeter. "The guys have been really committed to each other and it's great to see the Cell rocking. The fans and the city are excited. I know how this place can be on a Tuesday and we just want it to be exciting."

Said senior Anthony Hill, "It was a great atmosphere. I love throwing my arms up and getting the crowd into it. It's a wonderful feeling."

It was the third tournament game of the week, and second in two nights, for the Crusaders. UWM, meanwhile, was playing its first game in a week - as the top seed it drew a bye into the semifinals. UWM point guard Kaylon Williams said the break had been good for the Panthers.

"I felt real good," said Williams. "This week we've been going pretty hard but not too hard. We've been getting a lot of treatments. I felt good when I woke up this morning."

Hill was again the workhorse for UWM, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds and keeping the Crusaders in foul trouble. Hill made 7 of 11 shots and 10 of 13 free throws.

"Kaylon and Tony Meier and everybody were just really committed to getting me the ball," said Hill. "I just wanted to stay aggressive."

Williams scored 16 points and sank a couple huge three-pointers late in the game, and Meier hit a pair of threes to help UWM to an early eight-point lead and finished with 15 points.

High-scoring guard Brandon Wood led Valparaiso with 24 points but didn't hurt UWM as badly in transition as he had in previous games.

The most telling statistic, though, was at the foul line, where the Panthers made 24 of 36 free throws (66.7%) while Valparaiso was 5 of 9 (55.6%).

"We didn't want them scoring with the clock stopped," said Jeter. "Keeping teams off the foul line is important. We always want to make more free throws than our opponent attempts. That's a lofty goal, but if you start with that in mind and if you fall a little short, you're still pretty solid."

Said Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, "We just have to get better. We have to play through it. The facts speak for themselves. We shot nine free throws and they shot 36 free throws. So we have to get better. We have to be more aggressive on the offense and do a better job of defending."

The Panthers led at halftime, 36-32, but the Crusaders scored the first four points of the second half. Drew received a technical for storming on the court to protest a call with 16:34 left, and UWM turned that into a four-point possession and a 43-38 lead.

Williams sank a pair of huge threes, the second with the shot clock about to expire, to give UWM a 55-47 lead with 10:40 left, and a three-point play by Hill seconds later made it 58-49. Meier drilled a three to give UWM a 61-51 lead and the Crusaders took a timeout with 7:53 left.

"In a clutch situation we have a lot of guys we can go to," said Williams. "We've proven it all year. Tony Meier proved it at Cleveland State, Tone Boyle proves it all the time, and obviously Ant Hill. And I know I can do it. I'm not just a passer."

Valparaiso closed to within four with 2 minutes left, but UWM got a couple key offensive rebounds and Meier sank two free throws with 1:10 left for a 66-60 lead.

The Crusaders tipped their hat to the Panthers afterward.

"Ten straight (wins)," said Crusaders forward Cory Johnson. "They've really come a long way."