In a tough, gritty, physical Horizon League showdown, the Milwaukee Panthers came out on top against the Youngstown State Penguins, 79-64, on Friday night at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Last year on their home court, the Panthers fell short against the Penguins in overtime, but this year, that was certainly not the case. The Panthers dominated in the paint and played quality defense to prevail against the Penguins (11-8, 6-3 Horizon League).
Milwaukee (13-6, 6-2 Horizon League) poured in 62 points in the paint and outscored Youngstown State 62-28 in that area. The success in the paint played a pivotal role in the result, as the Panthers went 0 of 5 from the 3-point line and 13 of 28 for 46.4% from the free-throw line.
“I don’t know if that was the most aesthetically-pleasing game ever,” Milwaukee coach Bart Lundy said. “But I thought our first 24 minutes of defense was about as good as we have played, which was good because we didn’t play great offense. I thought our bigs were phenomenal. We just have to get a little more from the perimeter.
“Whatever my coaching philosophy about analytics is … we were not on that pattern tonight. I know it’s been 11 years since Milwaukee did not make a 3, but that may be the first time in my career that one of my teams did not make a 3.”
The Panthers controlled the pace of the game. They played well on the defensive end, giving the Penguins few uncontested looks. The Panthers then attacked the paint on the offensive end, allowing them to convert around the rim and achieve easy baskets in transition.
Senior Forward Faizon Fields had a remarkable performance in the victory, tying a career-high with 21 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and tallying two blocks while throwing down a couple of thunderous dunks to give the Panthers energy throughout the conference matchup.
Junior forward Jamichael Stillwell had an impressive double-double, tallying in 10 points and snagging 10 rebounds. It marked Stillwell’s 12th double-double this season, as Stillwell currently ranks second in rebounds at the Division I level.
Themus Fulks added 18 points and four assists in the effort for the Panthers.
This win for the Panthers places them in third place in the Horizon League. The Panthers will square off against the Robert Morris Colonials (12-7, 4-4 Horizon League). The game is set to tip-off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday at Panther Arena.
