Jason Newkirk Director of Recruiting | Milwaukee Athletics Website
Jason Newkirk Director of Recruiting | Milwaukee Athletics Website
The Milwaukee men's basketball team secured a victory over Detroit Mercy with a final score of 83-79 in the opening round of the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Championships. The game took place at the Klotsche Center on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee's head coach, Bart Lundy, acknowledged a sluggish start for his team but praised their ability to tie the game by halftime and fight through the second half. "We came out sluggish in the first half and gave them a lead," Lundy said. "I don't know if we were looking ahead a bit, but we did enough to come back and tie it up at halftime and then battle in the second half. But it was definitely a battle."
The Panthers (18-14) broke away from a tied score late in the game with significant contributions from Faizon Fields, who scored key points and drew an important charge against Detroit Mercy (1-31). Lundy commended his players' determination: "I'd like to give our guys credit for really deciding they were going to put their heads down and get to the rim [in the second half]."
BJ Freeman played a crucial role by scoring back-to-back layups followed by two free throws that sealed Milwaukee's win with only seconds remaining. Freeman achieved his third consecutive double-double, ending with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Fields added 13 points while Erik Pratt contributed 11 points and five assists. Elijah Jamison and Angelo Stuart each scored eight points for Milwaukee.
Detroit Mercy's Jayden Stone matched Freeman's performance with 30 points, supported by Marcus Tankersley's 21-point effort. Despite their strong play, Detroit Mercy could not overcome Milwaukee's advantage in scoring inside the paint.
Lundy recognized Detroit Mercy's resilience under challenging circumstances: "I'd like to give Detroit a lot of credit," he said. "Mike Davis has been doing this a really long time and he was dealt a really bad hand this year."
With this victory, Milwaukee advances to face Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the league championships on March 7th as part of an event hosted at Kress Center.
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