The UWM men’s basketball team picked up an efficient near double-digit win at 79-70 over Albany at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday night.
Led by newcomer Jake Wright with a career-high 23 points, the Panthers shot a season-high 58.5 percent from the field and 51.1 percent from three-point land on the night.
“Just very happy that we found some offensive success to go along with our defense,” head coach Pat Baldwin said. “I think that has been a hallmark of us early in games, being able to defend and take away some things.”
Wright is currently a graduate transfer on the Panthers squad. Since beginning his college career at The Citadel and then transferring from Miami (Ohio), Wright has found success in his role as a scorer, especially from the three-point line.
“We want to score as a team and coach tells me if I have open shots to take them,” said Wright. “My role is a shooter and a guy who can space the floor and help stretch the floor and make open shots.
“That’s what I did tonight. I scored a fair amount, so I guess you could say my role tonight was a scorer. Nothing changed this game than any other game. Some games, it’s just there, and you have to take advantage of the opportunities, and that’s what I tried to do tonight.”
Three other Panthers scored in double-figures on the night; Darius Roy finished with 17, DeAndre Abram scored 13, and Amir Allen had 10 points.
The first half was completely controlled by the Panthers’ Wright who had all 12 of the Panthers first points on three-pointers. Milwaukee would eventually lose their lead right before the half because of Albany’s productivity on the offensive end.
Ahmad Clark led Albany with 23 points.
Wright and Abram opened the second half with back to back triples. Milwaukee continued to play their game and found a surge on offense to extend the lead to as much as 10.
Albany tried to battle back, but never caught up to the lead. The Panthers converted a 5-point play on a flagrant foul call with Abram knocking down two free throws, and then a three.
The 10-0 run sealed the deal for Milwaukee, outlasting Albany.
Milwaukee also won the rebounding bout 32-28 and points in the paint 30-18.
The Panthers will head to Northern Ireland to face the Buffalo Bulls in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Milwaukee start time is 4:30 a.m.