The Panthers welcome the Golden Grizzlies back home at the Panther Arena after being on the road for two games. The Panthers secured their first away game win against Youngstown State 84-74. Milwaukee unfortunately was not able to secure back-to-back wins and lost their 3-game win streak against Robert Morris 59-72.
Oakland heads into the matchup having won three out of their four games, which included a win against Cleveland State who is number-one ranked. The end of the regular season is upon us and it’s a battle to the finish line as well as positioning in the league standing which is the primary concern for these teams.
The previous matchup between these two teams was the beginning of January with Oakland having home court advantage and secured a win against Milwaukee 49-65.
Kentrell Pullian set the tone for what would turn into an extremely physical game for both teams with a major 3 point shot to secure the first points on the board. Milwaukee responded with another 3 point shot made by AJ Mckee in the first few minutes of the first half.
The Milwaukee boys scored 17 back to back points to flip the game around ending the first half in the lead 42-34. Looking at the first half; Oakland had 8 turnovers compared to Milwaukee’s 22, The Panthers struggled with three point shots going 2-11.
“A Lot of foul calls, a lot of reviews, long game,” said coach Bart Lundy. “It was exhausting I’m sure for both teams.”
The Panthers had a huge defensive stop on Oaklands final possession. Milwaukee seemed to struggle with free throws, but Themus Fulks was able to go 2 for 2 on free throws with just 1.0 on the board to seal the game.
AJ Mckee led the team with 15 points, Kentrell Pullian and Faizon Fields added 12 points each, and Themus Fulks and Erik Pratt with 9 points.
Jamichael Stillwell, who leads the team in rebounds and has been setting new school records, finished with a high of 13 rebounds and 5 steals.
The Panthers finished with 29.17% on field goals, 11.11% on three point shots and 77.78% on free throws. Jayson Woodrich led Oakland with 14 points, Allen David Mukeba with 9 rebounds and DQ Cole finished with 9 assists.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game coming out; we knew they were going to throw a punch in the second half because of the one they took in the first,” said Mckee. “We just had to take it and throw our punch harder than what they threw to win the game.”
Milwaukee walked away with the win finishing 71-66
The Golden Grizzlies drop to (13-7, 10-9) Horizon League while Milwaukee improves to (20-10,13-6) Horizon League. Milwaukee moved into a tie for second place in conference standing with their last regular season game this weekend.
The Panthers have their last regular season game on Saturday against Detroit Mercy at 3.p.m; while also being senior day for the boys.