BJ Freeman take a bow.
Your Milwaukee Panthers played a very close game against Stetson in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational in Daytona. After twists and turns, we wound up with a late run that secured victory #22 for the Panthers, beating Stetson in OT, 87-83.
The Hatters strategy of focusing on BJ Freeman backfired. Though the score stayed tight as a tick until the final couple minutes, Stetson's fouls committed against Freeman mounted. And Freeman racked up virtually all the free points. Shooting 20-22 from the charity stripe, and along with 7 rebounds collected, BJ Freeman scored 43 points to set a new individual game scoring record for himself- and moved in to 2nd place all-time in Milwaukee Panther Basketball history.
(Von McDade still holds the record at 50 in THIS game)
Rand (12pts, 3reb, 3stl, 2blk), Pullian (10pts, 7reb, 4ast, 3stl) and Jamison (12pts, 7reb, 3ast) also scored in double figures and provided more than enough all-around firepower to compliment and make Freeman's all-time scoring rampage possible.
The shooting in this one was relatively bad for both teams; Milwaukee's numbers are a bit skewed as so many of Freeman's FG misses came when he was fouled while shooting. After battling intensely and trading the lead all game, Milwaukee pressed the advantage in the closing minutes, going up by a key "4" points (2 possessions) with just under a minute remaining. But Stetson forced a quick pair of Panther possessions and tied the game.
Overtime would show the Hatters getting tired and worn down. Once Milwaukee reclaimed the lead they did not relinquish it and dribbled out the final seconds as Panther Nation rejoiced in a continued season. And this was Panther victory #22; how awesome is that?
FG 3PT FT
36.4% 24.2% 76.0%
Milwaukee now faces off against the Charlotte 49ers tonight at 5:30pm CST. This game will bring Coach Lundy back to his roots; being a Charlotte native, he knows the 49ers coach and team well. Hopefully these Panthers have a strategy if Charlotte tries to shut down Freeman.
Or maybe Freeman can just keep getting to the line every time he is mobbed by multiple players? 😀
Our bigs will be needed tonight- Charlotte has a 6'11" 270lbs monster of a post man (#15 Aly Khalifa) that we will need to lock down (Jalen Johnson and Ahmad Rand will be key to shutting down Charlotte's post game). Their leading scoring is a guard, #3 Brice Williams. Milwaukee will need to key in on these guys and make sure Charlotte's backup plan- backfires like the defense on Freeman last night.
The 49ers also shoot the ball incredibly well. They make their triples at a 37.6% clip which puts them at #21 in all of Division 1. And defending the perimeter has been a horrible problem for the Panthers all season.
Buckle up, Panther fans. This is going to be a wild one; GTGB- just win.
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