Panthers Put Away Pesky Titans in Horizon League Tournament

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Photo by Tyler Klein

UW Panthers basketball vs. Detroit Mercy Titans

BJ Freeman at the line breathes deep

One win and 30 losses—that was the record of the Detroit Mercy Titans men’s basketball team. With their season on the line on Tuesday night, they traveled to the Klotsche Center to face off against the Milwaukee Panthers in the First Round of the Horizon League Tournament

Milwaukee defeated Detroit by an average of 19.5 points in their two previous meetings this year. But for nearly 38 minutes, little separated the 17-win Panthers from one of the worst teams in college basketball. 

Only a sequence of plays in the final few minutes was the difference for UWM. Veteran big man Faizon Fields hit a jump hook on one end of the floor and then drew an offensive foul on the other to spark a 7-0 run. 

“That basket by Faizon, and then the charge was the separator,” UWM Head Coach Bart Lundy noted. “It was as little as that.” 

Only a pair of BJ Freeman layups on the subsequent possessions allowed Milwaukee to pull away late en route to an 83-79 victory—advancing the Panthers to the the Horizon League quarterfinals. 

Nothing to Lose 

Despite the malaise of a dreadful season, Detroit was the more energetic squad to start, scoring nine fast break points in the game’s first four minutes. Jayden Stone—the Horizon League’s leading scorer at 20.5 PPG—also asserted himself early. The Titans senior had nine of the team’s first 14 points as the visitors gained a surprising nine-point advantage. 

“I didn’t think we prepared the right way,” Lundy remarked. “We came off a high with Green Bay, and we weren’t very good in practice yesterday and came out sluggish in the first half—gave them a lead. I don’t know if we were looking ahead a bit.” 

As the Panthers clamped down on Stone, accomplice Marcus Tankersley took over. Tankersley led all scorers with 13 points in the first half. 

A Panthers team characterized by its ability to go on big runs drew closer but could not pull away. Milwaukee’s poor three-point shooting (1-14 in the first half), combined with timely Tankersley buckets resulted in a 35-35 halftime tie. 

Coach Lundy’s Panthers made a concerted effort to be more aggressive offensively in the second period. “We were 1-14 with about five step-back threes in the first half,” Lundy noted, “so we talked a lot at halftime about, ‘let’s drive this ball to the rim.’ When you go to the rim, you can buffer [shooting] 2-for-19 from three when you’re getting layups and free throws.” 

Of UWM’s 20 free throw attempts (17 makes), 16 came after the break. The team also finished an impressive 27-36 (75%) on shots at the rim for the evening. 

Despite the improved offensive efficiency, Milwaukee still could not gain separation. Stone—who went scoreless for more than 26 minutes of game time after his early outburst—became a problem again for the Panthers defensively. The senior exploded for 21 points in the second half, including 10 points in two minutes on either side of the under-12 media timeout. 

“It was definitely a battle,” Lundy said. The UWM coach also added praise for his opposite number, Mike Davis. “He put those guys in exactly the positions to give them a chance to be good enough to win in this league.” 

All-Conference Snub 

Jayden Stone did not see his name on the list of All-League players released this week, and many felt that Milwaukee playmaker BJ Freeman was a snub. 

Despite being just one of three players in the country to average at least 20 points per game, six rebounds per game, and four assists per game this season, BJ Freeman was not part of the All-League First Team released by the Horizon League this week. The Panthers standout earned an All-League Second Team nod but was anything but second-rate on Tuesday. 

The junior finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists on a night when Stone (also with 30 points) was just as productive for the visitors. 

When asked about the pressure of mountain a comeback, Freeman responded: “I don’t feel it much. I just like playing basketball and doing whatever I can to get the win and advance.” 

Freeman was also quick to credit the dirty work of Faizon Fields down low and its impact on the Klotsche Center crowd. “At any given moment, a big play like Faizon made for us can change our momentum so fast,” Freeman said. “So trying to stay 

composed, try to stay calm. If we get that spark play, the crowd gets involved like they did. And it’s so loud that can bring us a boost so fast. And that’s what happened.” 

While Faizon Fields made the two momentum-swinging plays late in the contest, Freeman’s steady presence helped put the game to bed. The junior scored 11 of the last 16 points for UWM, including a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds left to ice the game. 

Coach Lundy also praised his team for its perseverance, saying, “We’ve built resiliency throughout the second half of the season—we lacked that early in the year. We’ve been a really good second-half team, and that comes with understanding how tough you got to be.” 

Renewed Rivalry 

Next up for the Panthers is a road rematch with in-state rivals Green Bay. A bottom-feeder for the last few years, the Phoenix has experienced a renaissance this season thanks to first-year head coach Sundance Wicks. 

Green Bay improved from three wins a year ago to 18 victories this year, finishing third in a competitive Horizon League. UWGB also welcomes back star guard Noah Reynolds—an All-League First Team honoree who missed the last four games with a sprained ankle. 

The two teams split the season series, with Milwaukee winning the regular-season finale 90-69 at home with Reynolds on the sideline. It will be the first postseason meeting in the I-43 rivalry since 2016 when Green Bay toppled Milwaukee in the Horizon League Quarterfinals. 

After the narrow win over Detroit, BJ Freeman assured that the Panthers would be ready to travel north with their season on the line. “Just wait for Milwaukee basketball on Thursday,” Freeman said. “We’re going to be ready to play and be ready for a war.”