Photo by: John Ward
Halloween sure was a fun night for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team as the only thing scary was the score at the end of the night. The Panthers came out with a goal in mind to get a big win over the Cardinal Stritch Wolves and they did just that with an 88-46 blowout win.
This game was UWM’s from the start as they took an early lead and never looked back scoring 51 points in the first half and only allowing 25 to the Stritch Wolves. The second half was a bit slower for the Panthers only scoring 37 points and allowing 21.
The Panthers had some impact players in this preseason game that will look to make an impact this season. First is guard DeAndre Abram who posted 15 points on an impressive 7-12 shooting with a three-pointer, five assists, six rebounds and two steals. Next is the transfer junior guard Josh Thomas scoring 15 points as going 7-11 from the field, with a three-pointer, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
As for the other starters, they combined for 23 points with senior guard Darius Roy with 11, senior forward Wil Sessoms with 11 and freshman center C.J. Wilbourn with one point. The Panthers showed some serious promise in this preseason contest. As a team they shot over 50% on field goals and over 40% from beyond the three-point arc.
Along with their shooting the Panthers were great at grabbing boards with 41 team rebounds to the Stritch Wolves’ 37. The Panthers were also great at keeping the ball while on offense only having six turnovers and forcing the Stritch Wolves to turn the ball over 20 times. The Panthers also showed great chemistry on the court picking up a combined 21 assists as a team.
Even though the Panthers showed they can be great in this game, not all games will be this easy for the Panthers as they start regular season play on Tuesday Nov. 5. against Concordia Wisconsin in their first real game.
Although they’d like it to, this game will not count for the Panthers record as they start off with a huge win, but it will serve as a confidence boost going into regular season play where the Panthers hope to bring their first Horizon League championship to UWM since 2011.