The Milwaukee Panthers come out victorious over the Jackrabbits in a one point lead at the “Milwaukee Hoops Showdown” hosted at the Fiserv Forum. Milwaukee and South Dakota open up the event with the first match up of the night.
The Star of the Show
Josh Dixon, Freshman Guard led the Panthers to victory leading as the top scorer of the night. Dixon secured 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. This event marked Dixon’s first collegiate start.
Dixon was named the Lou Henson Award National Mid-Major Player of the Week. He was also named the Horizon League Under Armour Freshman of the Week today.
Under Construction: Panthers Battling the Injury Bug
Prior to the first game of the season, John Lovelace Jr. had a freak injury that ruled him out for the entire season. Seth Hubbard stepped in and was a major scoring piece for Milwaukee.
Hubbard saved the day against Robert Morris a few games back, with a last second tip in. It was announced that Hubbard suffered a shoulder injury that would also rule him out for the remainder of the season.
Stevie Elam stepped in scoring 13 points against Indiana State, but was announced that he would be out for a few weeks. The Panthers have had to make adjustments to the line up every week following the injuries.
Chandler Jackson, who made one of his first appearances as a Panther secured seven points and four rebounds against South Dakota.
“The hard part for us is we lose Johnny, then we lose Seth. Johnny was arguably our best player coming out of the preseason,” said Head Coach Bart Lundy. “Seth is our leading scorer and we lost him, then Stevie stepped in and we lost Stevie. We had to kind of flip guys.”
Amar Augillard’s comeback redemption
Amar Augillard had a major game off the bench in his 20 minute appearance. Augillard scored 20 points in the second half and went four for four in free throws.
“Amar came off the bench and just did what Amar does,” Said Lundy. “It was really good for us to see him kind of break out, I think that’s his best game as a Panther.”
In the previous game against Indiana state, Augillard had a rough game going 0-10 in field goals.
The rest of the night in Milwaukee
The second half was a back and forth scoring game for both programs. Jaden Jackson of South Dakota was their top scorer securing 23 points and five assists.
The Panthers went 13 for 15 in free throws versus the Jackrabbits 8 for 15. Milwaukee shot for 46 percent versus South Dakota’s 50 percent from the field.
The Panthers head on the road to face Cleveland State, then back at home to take on Purdue Fort Wayne.