Heartbreak struck yet again for the UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team as they fell to Oakland in overtime 79-70, Sunday afternoon in Rochester, Michigan. The Panthers are now 4-6 in Horizon League play and 8-15 overall for the season.
This is the third game in a row the team went to overtime, which is a first in program history. In overtime, Oakland took a five-point lead midway through and never looked back as they hit their last eight free throws in the final 38 seconds to close out the game.
“”That’s basketball,” said Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan. “The other night at Detroit, they missed a couple at the line and today it was us – it’s just kind of how the game goes. I am proud of our guys to fight and compete the way that they did. I thought we gave everything we had and just have a couple of plays I wish I had back. That was a great game and everyone fought their tails off.”
Cody Wichmann led Milwaukee in scoring for the team with 17 points. Brock Stull added 12 points and six rebounds while Cameron Harvey added another 10, draining three 3-pointers. Jalen Hayes led Oakland with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds in a strong shooting night which saw him finish with 11-of-13 on field goals.
Milwaukee shot 41.5 percent from floor but struggled horribly as they hit less than 40 percent from the free throw line (8-21). Oakland fared much better from the floor shooting at 45.6 percent and won at the rebounding battle with 43 boards to Milwaukee’s 35.
“We’re making this a routine,” said Jordan. “That was just a great college basketball game. We were fighting like crazy – I am so proud of our guys and both teams competed at the highest level. It was fun to watch and be a part of in terms of competition.”
The Panthers will head home for their next couple games as they play the Horizon League-leading Valparaiso on Thursday at 7 p.m. at UWM Panther Arena.