Milwaukee’s Cream City Challenge was a smashing success for the host-Panthers, placing a bow on an undefeated weekend with a 69-65 win over St. Thomas on Sunday. Milwaukee defeated Portland State and Wofford earlier in the weekend to improve to 5-2.
Milwaukee took a seven-point lead into the final 90 seconds before surrendering back-to-back threes to narrow their lead to a single point. Themus Fulks’ free throws and a St. Thomas turnover off an attempted foul sealed the win for Milwaukee.
“We have guys who have closed out games,” said Lundy, whose team dropped four games by fewer than five points last year. “We have guys that are more connected to each other and more connected to me. We can get a little more intricate in what we can do… [Last year], I would have been afraid of fouling up three, but I know these guys will process what I’m asking them to do and be able to perform it.”
He added that he was impressed with the team’s effort and connectedness in light of the three-game-in-three-days format of the invitational.
No Faizon Fields, No Problem
A day after falling two points shy of his third straight double-double, Jamichael Stillwell scored 22 points and grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds. The Butler CC transfer’s 73 boards this year more-than double the next-best Panther.
“For me,” said Stillwell, “rebounding is like second nature.”
Stillwell and forward Aaron Franklin led the team to a 40-25 rebound advantage, including 14 offensive boards that led to 17 second-chance points. The Tommies converted just one basket off the offensive glass.
Franklin tied his career high with 15 points and added 8 rebounds in an increased role due to Fields’ absence due to a broken finger.
Big Men Also Setting Tone on Defense
The 2023-24 Panthers were a fast-paced group with a propensity for defensive lapses. The result – 78.7 points per game by their opponents.
This year’s Panthers have yet to allow more than 74 through their first seven games.
“To have bigger guys like Jamichael, Darius Duffy and Franklin who can switch and still guard those guards,” said Lundy, “they did a great job… It’s nice to have that luxury as a coach that you’ve got big guys that can switch out, move their feet and understand how to play.”
Themus Fulks added a career-high 5 steals from the point guard position.
“We’re excellent defensively and we’re really good on the glass,” said Lundy. “If you do those two things, you’ll be alright.”
Milwaukee continued the reversal of their 2023-24 first-half woes, leading 32-22 at halftime. Stillwell picked up for yesterday’s stars Fulks and AJ McKee in the first half, scoring a team-high 13 points. Fulks and McKee combined for just 8 points in the initial period.
The guards each finished with 9 points. Fellow guard Erik Pratt missed his fifth straight game due to personal reasons.
The second half included a pair of technical fouls, one from Stillwell and another from the team’s bench. A squabble between the two teams involved John Lovelace Jr. from the UWM side a few minutes later.
The Minnesota-based squad nabbed a short-lived 44-42 lead after sinking four straight free throws from the fouls. Momentum quickly shifted back in the home team’s favor as a 10-2 run gave the Panthers a six-point lead they never relinquished.
Graduate student Drake Dobbs led the Tommies with a season-high 16 points and 5 rebounds. Kendall Blue and Miles Barnstable added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Barnstable was one of five Wisconsinites on the visiting roster, a Howards Grove graduate who transferred after scoring over 1,000 points for UW-Whitewater.
Brookfield Central’s Ben Nau, MUHS’s (Marquette) Nolan Minessale and Catholic Memorial’s Rich Byhre all saw action in their home state on Sunday.
Big Thanksgiving Week Ahead
The Panthers head south for a two-game Thanksgiving week trip against Central Florida on Wednesday and Southern Miss on Saturday.
“We need to move the ball more,” said Stillwell. “We’ve been having breakdowns on defense off of our mistakes. We just need to clean it up a little bit.”
UCF returns home after a two-game invitational that ended in losses against Wisconsin and LSU. They knocked off No. 13 Texas A&M to begin the season on Nov. 4.
Southern Miss left Milwaukee with a 90-84 win last November, the only time the Sun Belt club has faced the Panthers.
“It’s a tough trip,” said Lundy, who indicated the team will spend Thanksgiving together in New Orleans. “UCF is really talented. They’ve been up and down and are still figuring themselves out… Regardless, it’ll be a good trip for our group.”
Sunday marked the third consecutive season where Milwaukee and St. Thomas met, with the Tommies taking the previous two matchups. The St. Paul-based university joined Division I in 2021-22, becoming the newest member of the Summit League.
The Tommies were tabbed for a fourth-place finish in the official preseason poll behind Kansas City, South Dakota State and North Dakota State.
“They are well-coached,” said Lundy. “They’re going to win a lot of games.”
Sunday’s victors hope to find the same success on the road this week – catch the Panthers on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.