“I don’t feel pressure,” said BJ Freeman on Tuesday night.
On Thursday night, Freeman backed up his words with his performance, dropping 32 points in the biggest game of the year. The Panthers headed home happy after eliminating Green Bay with a 95-84 win, bringing the Panthers within two games of the Big Dance.
Panthers jump to rare first-half lead
Over 2,000 fans packed Green Bay’s Kress Center, seemingly to deride the visiting Panthers as fervently as they cheered on the hometown Phoenix. Milwaukee wasted no time silencing the crowd with its best first-half showing of the year.
Freeman kicked off Milwaukee’s side of the scoring with a three, kicking off an early 11-2 Panther run. The visiting Panthers, a team with well-documented early-game struggles, held a rare early lead. Guard Noah Reynolds, recently named to the Horizon League’s All-League First Team, ended the run with a pair of field goals.
With the Phoenix focused on stopping Freeman, the guard dished out a game-high five first-half assists en route to a 4-point advantage at intermission.
Green Bay boasted the best 3-point defense in the Horizon League’s regular season, holding opponents to just 29% from deep, but had less success defending inside. The Panthers, led by Faizon Fields and Langston Wilson, outscored the Phoenix 26-16 in the paint in the first half, 54-36 for the game. Their 14 three-point attempts tied for their fewest all season.
“We knew we had a little bit of an advantage getting downhill and playing strong, finishing through contact,” said Freeman. “So, it’s just executing what coach wants us to do.”
Fields, along with Freeman and Erik Pratt, led the Panthers with nine first-half points. Wilson added six points and three rebounds, his first time scoring five or more points in a game since Feb. 17.
Milwaukee remained in control for much of the half but allowed Green Bay to stay within striking distance. They entered intermission with a 39-35 half over the in-state rivals.
Panthers take over in second half
The Phoenix wasted no time after the break, nabbing a 41-39 lead on the heels of a three-point play and a deep ball from Rich Byhre and David Douglas Jr., respectively. A Milwaukee timeout halted the home squad’s momentum, quieting the building in the process. Freeman made sure every one of the 2,394 Phoenix fans in the building left with a sour taste.
Tied at 54 in the middle of the second half, Milwaukee went on a 13-0 run to take 67-54 advantage. Freeman scored nine of the 13 points.
Reynolds ended the Panther run with a pair of field goals, but his best efforts proved futile. Milwaukee’s lead never dropped below nine in spite of Reynolds’ 13 points during the final stretch.
The Panthers, ever the second-half team, were able to emerge victorious after maintaining a lead at halftime. They came prepared to play, then maintained their focus throughout the game.
“We knew if we didn’t come in with the right mindset, it wouldn’t turn out the way we wanted it to,” said Fields, who scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the win. “Everyone was locked in, was focused. We knew if everyone was focused, we’d get the job done.”
Freeman and Fields lead the charge for the visitors
Freeman finished the contest with a game-high 32 points, dishing out five assists — also a game-high for Milwaukee — and grabbing eight rebounds. The bigger the game, the more Freeman steps up.
“I’m just trying to do anything to win,” said Freeman. “We know what our end goal is… Whatever we’ve got to do to get a win.”
Added Head Coach Bart Lundy, “BJ was just unstoppable.”
Fields finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, his second-highest scoring output of the year. His performance with the season on the line was the culmination of his incredible improvement throughout the year.
On the Green Bay side, Reynolds led with 27 points and six assists after missing the previous four games with a high ankle sprain.
“He won’t tell you he was hurt,” said Green Bay Head Coach Sundance Wicks, indicating Reynolds may not have been playing at 100%. “So, to go out there and play 34 minutes, 27 points, six assists, three rebounds — that’s a real guy.”
Also contributing to the Phoenix in their losing effort were the Catholic Memorial graduate Byhre and Oshkosh native Preston Ruedinger, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Rivalry renewed
A rivalry that has sat dormant, recently, given the programs’ struggles was reignited this year with Green Bay’s 15-win improvement coming just a year after Milwaukee’s own revival.
“Second round of the playoffs, we got a rival game, we’re an hour and a half from each other,” said Freeman. “It doesn’t get better than that.”
The teams opted not to shake hands as is custom after a game due to tension among the players.
Milwaukee’s win meant the end of Green Bay’s remarkable one-year turnaround. In Wicks’ first year as head coach, the Phoenix improved from 3-29 to 18-14.
“A year ago, were you to actually sit here and say you could put a team together at Green Bay and go from 3-29 to 18-14, you would either have been laughed off the stage or called a crazy lunatic,” said Wicks. “This team is nothing short of miraculous.”
Two down, two to go
The Panthers head to Indianapolis for a semifinal matchup on Monday night with fifth-seeded Northern Kentucky. The Panthers split the season series with the Norse, dropping the road contest 90-72 but managing to steal a 73-72-win last month in Milwaukee.
Thursday may have marked a big step in their postseason aspirations, but they’re far from where they hope to be.
“We can’t be satisfied,” said Fields. “The job’s not finished.”