It was only a matter of time before the Milwaukee men’s basketball team found their way to a victory in the Gulf Coast Showcase. After two tough losses to Murray State and Duquesne, the Panthers’ were playing once again in the 7th place game against Central Michigan.
The game was fairly close throughout the contest, however a second-half run shot the Panthers past the Chippewas. The Panthers’ used the late run to turn a tie game into a 16 point lead in their favor.
Central Michigan started the game with a nice run to go up 12-5 before Cody Wichmann put in five points to tie the game at 12 and give the Panthers a little momentum. A few minutes later Central Michigan went on their own run to turn the game from 21-21 to 26-21, Central Michigan. Going into halftime the Chippewas were up 35-31.
photo: mkepanthers.com
Milwaukee came out ready to play right from the start of the second-half. Akeem Springs helped the teams run with five straight points to give Milwaukee a solid lead. Springs finished the night with 13 points. For the Panthers’ it was Jordan Johnson and J.J. Panoske topping the scoring charts. Johnson finished the game with 17 points and nine assists while Panoske added 18 points, one away from his career high, and five rebounds.
The Chippewas were lead by Rayshawn Simmons, scoring 21 points, and Barylon Rayso, contributing 17.
Central Michigan was deteriorating the Panther’s lead with 2:35 left in the game, down 15, and managed to get within four points with 28 seconds remaining. Down the stretch Milwaukee pulled out the clutch card and knocked down five of six free throw attempts to seal the victory, snapping their two game losing streak.
After this tournament Milwaukee will take a lengthy break from games and resume their season December 3rd when they will play SIU Edwardsville at 6 p.m. at the Klotsche center.