The Milwaukee Panthers host their final regular season game at the Panther Arena on Saturday welcoming the Detroit Mercy Titans. There is a lot on the line with this final matchup, as this final game determines the final seed for the upcoming Horizon League Basketball Championship.
Prior to the game, the program also held “Senior Day” honoring the graduating seniors; Themus Fulks, Kentrell Pullian, AJ Mckee, Erik Pratt, Faizon Fields and Darius Duffy as well as team manager Garrett Klein.
The top five seeds earn a first round bye as well as the top four teams will host a quarter final matchups. The Titans and Panthers previous match ended in favor of Milwaukee; winning 64-56 on the road. The Titans head into the matchup after a loss against Green Bay.
The Panthers took the lead early by securing 10 of the first 12 points, and were in control the entire game.
The Panthers lead the Titans going into the half 43-31. In the first half Milwaukee had 26 in the paint shots over Detroits Mercy’s 10, but the Titans had only 3 turnovers compared to the Panthers 18.
Kentrell Pullian led the team with double figures with a high of 18 points. Jamichael Stillwell gained his 16th double double of the season, securing 16 points and 10 rebounds. Themus Fulks also secured 16 points and added on 9 assists. Erik Pratt had an early start and finished with 15 points and AJ Mckee added double figures with 11 points.
“Our defensive intensity was really good tonight,” said coach Bart Lundy. “Those guys finally figured out that we could do a little more damage in the full court with our pressure then we’ve done all year.”
TJ Nadaeau led the Titans with 15 points, Emmanuel Kuac added a double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Following the last few remaining minutes of the game, Pratt was on fire with back to back three point shots followed by a major dunk by Darius Duffy.
The Panthers finished with a field goal percentage of 52.4% over Titans 48%, both finishing out with 33% in 3 pointers. The Panthers added on 34 fast break points to extend their number one ranking in NCAA.
Milwaukee now (21-10, 14-6 Horizon League) walks out the regular season with a win against Detroit Mercy (8-23, 4-16 Horizon League) 89-67, and secures the number 3 seed going into next week after being tied for second place. The Panthers head into a bye week and will be hosting the highest remaining seed in a Horizon quarter final on Thursday. The Matchup will be held on campus at the Klotsche Center.