Your Milwaukee Panthers played hard until the end, but the Providence Friars kept enough of a buffer lead to win the game. And anyone watching this game knows that a final, sustained Panther run towards the end may have led to a Panther victory.
Providence led by a couple of points for much of the first half, but the Friars really began to stretch that lead at the 7:45 mark. Up 39-26 at half, this looked to be another blowout non-con loss. But this team kept competing into the second half. and until the final buzzer. This was a very physical game and all the guys battled. Freeman got to the charity stripe 11 times and was 11-11. But the Friars never let up enough for Milwaukee to tie or capture the lead after the Panthers had the game tied 11-11 in the early minutes of the game.
Milwaukee would eventually lose, 79-69.
The loss is not what wanted, but we competed well on the road against a P5 school. Providence beat us on the boards (39-45) and we did not dish out many assists (KP had 3 though). We only shot 17.6% from 3pt (our bread and butter) and just 37.7% overall from the field. Providence showcased a very balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures.
So how did we stay in this game until the end with most cylinders of the Milwaukee engine not firing?
BJ Freeman.
Returning from his 1-game suspension for violation of team rules, Freeman exploded for a 33 point, 10 rebound double-double. (Imagine what we will look like when everyone is on their A-game..?). Providence was clearly trying to double team Freeman but his quick shifts, ball fakes on the perimeter before driving, and leaps to and through thoroughly contested hoops allowed him to give Milwaukee fans a good look at the '23-'24 Milwaukee Panther Revenge Tour.
Milwaukee is possibly Wisconsin's 2nd best c-hoops team (and MU is top 10).. 👀
Newcomer Eric Pratt surprised with 12 points and 4 rebounds. And to the rest of team's credit- a lot of what they did to stay in this game does not show up in the box score.
Up next Milwaukee will travel to Boulder, Colorado for a contest against the Colorado Buffalos. Be sure to tune in Tuesday night to see if this Panther team can not just run with- but actually topple- some of these P5 teams.
Time'll tell.
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