A second overtime loss this season, at the hands of Youngstown State, may have cost the Panthers a chance at a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament.
UWM dropped their Friday night contest 84-80 at the Panther Arena, a game that featured nine lead changes and a series of missed opportunities for a win.
Panthers running out of time for top 4 seed
The top four conference teams earn a first-round bye and a quarterfinal home game in the Horizon League tournament. UWM appears to be on the outside looking in.
With just three games remaining, the Panthers are locked in a three-way tie for sixth place with Cleveland State and Purdue-Fort Wayne. They trail fourth-place Wright State by four games.
The Panthers have shown the talent to win the Horizon League. The consistency? Not quite there.
“When these guys are locked in and they decide they’re going to help each other defensively, they’re going to rebound, they’re going to hit people — we’re pretty good,” said Head Coach Bart Lundy. “As soon as we slip away from that and we think it’s about shooting balls and not guarding, not rebounding, we’re not nearly good enough.”
Panthers’ first-half struggles continue
Such was the story early as a 6-point UWM lead, which included four of five field goals from 3-point range to begin the game, that vanished after the Panthers were outplayed in nearly every facet of the game. Youngstown’s mid-half 16-0 run propelled them to a 39-25 halftime lead.
After the Youngstown run, Milwaukee endured nearly six minutes without a field goal until a BJ Freeman jump shot cut the lead down to nine points. Freeman, who finished with a game-high 22 points, led all scorers in the first half with 12.
“If we play tougher and we play more unselfish in that first half, we’re not down 14,” said Lundy after the game. “Then the second half gives us a cushion.”
Second-half surge leads to overtime basketball
After a back-and-forth start to the second half, a 15-2 run gave the Panthers a 46-45 lead with 11:06 remaining, their first lead in over 20 minutes.
7-footers Gabe Dynes and Imanuel Zorgvol fouled out in the final minutes, opening the door for UWM to take advantage of the lack of size down low. Playing from behind late, a Faizon Fields layup tied the game with 14 seconds remaining. The game went to overtime after a disorganized Panther squad failed to get a shot off in the final seconds.
The UWM defense had few answers for Youngstown in overtime, as the Penguins converted on eight of their 10 field goal attempts. John Lovelace Jr.’s put-back dunk sealed the game with 31 seconds left.
“The Lovelace run to the rim on the backside really killed us,” said Lundy.
Game decided in the paint
The biggest performances in Friday night’s matchup came from the big men — Gabe Dynes and DJ Burns from YSU and Faizon Fields with Milwaukee.
Dynes, a 7-foot-3, 190-pound center, recorded his second double-double of the year, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while blocking four shots. The freshman leads the Horizon League with 2.3 blocks per game.
Burns, who leads the conference with 11 rebounds per game, equaled Dynes by recording a double-double of his own, his 19th in the 2023-24 campaign. His double-double on Friday night tied him with Purdue’s Zach Edey for the third-most in NCAA’s top division.
On the home side, Fields had a 13-point, 10-rebound performance, his fourth double-double since assuming an increased role in Darius Duffy’s absence. The Panthers were a game-high +12 with Fields on the court.
“He was phenomenal today,” said Lundy regarding the 6-foot-10 junior. “He’s making a huge difference — he anchors everything we do… I think Faizon has given us everything he’s got.”
Returning for Milwaukee on Friday was Aaron Franklin, who missed the previous 15 games with a wrist injury. He added nine points and seven rebounds in the losing effort.
Inconsistent Panthers must figure it out
Friday night proved emblematic of UWM’s volatile season — a first-half deficit followed by a mid-second half surge, highly variable energy and a quick style of play that sometimes becomes out of control. Just three games sit between Milwaukee and an elimination game which holds the fate of their season in the balance. Between now and then, they must find a way to play to their abilities.
“It’s all toughness — when we’re tough, we’re good — we’re plenty good enough,” said Lundy. “We just slip into the not-tough mode, and we don’t have the margins to do that… We’re quick to get upset with each other… Some of it is focus — we have some guys that lose focus pretty quickly.”
The Panthers will try to right the ship beginning this Sunday when fellow sixth-place Purdue-Fort Wayne comes to town. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Panther Arena.