Aaron Franklin recorded a double-double and Stevie Elam led all scorers with 19 points as the Milwaukee Panthers men’s basketball team secured a 78-65 win over Youngstown State on Wednesday at UWM Panther Arena. The game marked “Senior Night” and was the last home contest of the regular season for Milwaukee.
“Just really happy for all the seniors, but especially Aaron and Faizon who got to play at least some tonight, and Amar, to go out on a win,” said head coach Bart Lundy. “It’ll be our last game here at UWM Panther Arena this year, and the last of their careers, and really happy that we end up with everything that’s happened with an 8-6 home record. We ended up securing a winning record at home, at least, and got a lot of contributions from a lot of people.”
The Panthers improved to 12-19 overall and 8-12 in Horizon League play. Youngstown State fell to 15-15 overall and 8-11 in conference games. The Panthers built a lead as large as twelve points before Youngstown State closed the gap to three with under seven minutes remaining. Milwaukee then went on an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach.
“Youngstown, give them credit,” Lundy said. “They won six of their last nine, and it came in hot, and I thought we did a really good job defensively, just contesting things, making it hard on them, and just proud of our guys. They’re a resilient group.”
Franklin was one of six seniors honored before the game. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting along with 11 rebounds and two assists.
“I’m not much of a person that pays attention to my stats, but it was more important to go out as a senior with a win on our home floor, with our home crowd, and with guys that have been here for our struggle this whole season,” Franklin said after the game. “So, to go into the postseason with momentum, that was where my mindset was.”
Elam hit four three-pointers among his total while adding eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals—a season high for him.
Chandler Jackson contributed 14 points including a key three-point play during Milwaukee’s decisive run late in the second half. Esyah Pippa-White added eleven points off efficient shooting.
For Youngstown State, Chris Carroll scored thirteen points while Rich Rolf had eleven points and ten rebounds.
Milwaukee started strong by scoring the first eight points but saw its early advantage cut down by Youngstown State’s quick run late in the first half. The Panthers led by four at halftime before pulling away in the closing minutes.
The Panthers shot nearly 51 percent from the field compared to Youngstown State’s roughly 44 percent mark. Milwaukee also outrebounded its opponent by two boards (32-30) and held Youngstown State well below its season scoring average.
With this victory—and depending on other results—the Panthers are expected to avoid playing in Monday’s play-in round for lower seeds ahead of next week’s Horizon League tournament opener.
“I was thinking how different this team is than the team that somebody that saw a game at the beginning of the year,” Lundy said. “Hardly any of these guys were on the floor, but proud of them. It’s a new season for us. Going to end up with the 8 or 9 seed. But we avoided the 10-11, and having to play five games to win it all. Having to play IU Indy will wear you out on Monday. So, the win in seeding terms was huge for us.”
The Milwaukee Panthers men’s basketball team competes in NCAA Division I as part of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee athletics within Wisconsin’s largest city.
