Jalon Pipkins scored 24 points to lead the Purdue Fort-Wayne Mastodons (13-6, 18-10) past the UW-Milwaukee Panthers (7-13, 9-20) 81-71 to move into second place in the Horizon League.
Jarred Godfrey also played great for the Mastodons, scoring 17 points (7-11 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 1-2 FT). In addition, he had seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
Tafari Simms led the way for the Panthers with 14 points (5-13 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 3-4 FT) and six rebounds. Jordan Lathon scored 10 points (5-7FG, 0-1 3Pt), with four rebounds and two assists.
The Panthers played a solid game on offense, but they struggled with three-point shooting. As a team, they shot 5-18 from the arc, making only 27.8% of their three-point shots.
The other problem for the Panthers was defense. The Mastodons completed 32-59 field goals which was good for 54.2%. The Mastodons also made 11 three-point shots.
Baldwin’s return in doubt
The Panthers also received some devastating news as Patrick Baldwin Jr. may be done for the rest of the season.
“If I had to make a decision today, or had a gut feeling about where he’s at right now, I would probably say he wouldn’t play for the rest of the year.” His father, Head Coach Patrick Baldwin said.
Without Baldwin’s return, the Panthers have an uphill battle to qualify and make a deep run in the Horizon League Championship.
After only playing in 11 games all season, only averaging 12.1 points on 34.4% shooting, it has been a frustrating year for Baldwin who continues to slide in NBA draft projections. It has also been a frustrating year for the Panthers. After they picked up Baldwin, they came into the year with optimism and the inability for players to stay healthy has led to frustration.
“I don’t know if it’s as much disappointment as it is frustration.” Coach Baldwin said. “At no point in our season have we ever had every single one of our guys healthy to where we could get that continuity and chemistry.”
The Panthers have two games left in the regular season before the start of the Horizon League Tournament. Without Baldwin and another post presence in Moses Bol (knee), the season might be coming to an early end for the Panthers, who fell to ninth in the Horizon League.
The Panthers are back in action Thursday taking on the IUPUI Jaguars in Indiana.