In the Milwaukee men’s basketball home opener against the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota at the UWM Panther Arena on Saturday night, the Panthers battled back in the second half, only to come up short, losing 63-60. Milwaukee fell to 0-2 on the season Saturday night. Once again, Darius Roy led the Panthers in scoring with 18 points while adding six assists and four steals, this time in a starting position.
Both Milwaukee and North Dakota struggled offensively in the opening minutes of the game. A lack of defense for the Panthers gave the Hawks an opportunity to eventually start pulling away as the half continued. Milwaukee gave North Dakota a wide-open lane for some time in the early-goings of this ballgame, leading to 10 points in the paint for the Hawks after the first 20 minutes.
On the offensive end, the Panthers could not find the bottom of the net, as they just crept over double-digits in scoring late in the half. North Dakota managed to accrue a comfortable lead, as Milwaukee’s shooting woes remained prominent. A late three-pointer by Jake Wright sparked a great deal of energy from the crowd, but that energy was short-lived, as the Panthers abysmal 20% shooting from the field kept them out of any sort of contention in the first half. The Hawks led Milwaukee 30-17 at the break.
The second half was a different story for the Panthers on both ends of the floor. The Panthers came out of the gates with a vengeance, as DeAndre Abram – who finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds – came up big with a steal and took it down the court for a triple to cut the North Dakota lead to eight points. Both teams were trading buckets as the half went on, but it was difficult for Milwaukee to recover after the double-digit deficit from the first half. The Panthers offensive success in the second half came from several players, as they were able to spread the wealth around the court. Roy was able to hit several floaters in the lane, and Vance Johnson managed to sink a few layups from the block. Johnson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Hawks’ lead seemed to continue to hover around eight points throughout the second half of play. Milwaukee battled back with an absolute scoring rampage from sophomore Carson Warren-Newsome, who scored all of his 12 points in the second half. He connected on four consecutive shots from three-point land. The home crowd showered him with continuous roars as he hit one shot after another. The Panthers stayed in the fight with a Roy and-one.
With less than two minutes left in regulation, North Dakota had a lead of eight points, but Milwaukee would not back down just yet. Abram canned a three-pointer to pull the Panthers within three, with 24 seconds left on the clock. Milwaukee managed to get the ball back, and Roy came striking into the paint for another bucket. The Panthers were forced to foul, putting the Hawks at the line. North Dakota was able to sink both shots from the charity stripe putting them up 63-60.
The last stitch effort for Milwaukee came from Roy, as the ball was put into his hands to try and tie it up. His three-pointer looked promising, but bounced out, leaving the Panthers winless thus far on the season.
Milwaukee looks ahead to Tuesday, as they head back on the road to take on Florida International University. After a two-game road stretch, the Panthers will return to home action on Nov. 20 against LIU Brooklyn.
Well written and acute observations!