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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Jan 20, 2023 8:14:09 GMT -6
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Post by Cactus Panther on Jan 20, 2023 10:01:11 GMT -6
Showing shades of his cousin Manute on defense, Moses Bol leads first-place UWM past Robert Morris
Curt Hogg
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee kept in line with the pace at the top of the Horizon League.
BJ Freeman went on a late-game scoring binge as part of a 26-point effort to lead the Panthers past a pesky, relentless effort from Robert Morris, 77-69, at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The Panthers (13-6, 7-2) remain tied with Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky atop the conference after all three teams won Thursday night. Milwaukee will play host to a showdown atop the Horizon when Youngstown State comes to town Saturday.
“Coach always says it’s not what we do, it’s how we do it,” Panthers center Moses Bol said. “Today, we just came in and we just did what we’ve worked on. That’s what we do, is go hard and stack good days.”
Maintaining their status in the standings wasn’t easy against the Colonials. Milwaukee led the vast majority of the night, but Robert Morris stayed within shouting distance after falling behind by 12 early in the first half and eventually claimed a lead with just over eight minutes remaining.
The Colonials (8-12, 3-6) went ahead 66-64 on a putback layup by Kahliel Spear with three minutes, 50 seconds left.
Freeman promptly took over.
The sophomore wing buried a jumper to pull even, then was fouled on a three-point attempt on the next possession and hit all his free throws. After the Panthers got another stop on defense, Freeman went down and scored a layup to cap a 7-0 personal run.
When Elijah Jamison made a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left, it put an end to a 9-0 Panthers run to turn a two-point deficit into a 73-66 lead. When all was said and done, it was a 15-3 closing run.
Freeman finished one point shy of his career high, which he set one week ago against Northern Kentucky, on 8-for-18 shooting (3 for 7 from deep). He is averaging 22.7 points per game over his last six games after scoring just 19 total on 25.9% shooting in the previous four.
It’s no coincidence the Panthers are 5-1 in that stretch.
“He’s been a focal point,” Milwaukee head coach Bart Lundy.“Not only is he scoring but he’s getting into the teeth of the defense, making crisp passes. His ability to slither in there, it’s not jet-quick but it’s elusive, really helps us get in the paint. If you watch us, that’s what we’re trying to do offensively.”
Kentrell Pullian and Markeith Browning II each scored 13 points, and Bol chipped in a career-high 10 points.
Bol’s contribution on the defensive made just as much of an impact as his scoring, as well. He blocked three shots and deterred a myriad of other looks for the Colonials in the paint. The Panthers allowed only 22 points on 32% shooting on two-point shots, finishing with eight blocks in what was one of their best rim-protecting games of the year.
“Moses anchored us for sure in the interior,” Lundy said. “Not only did he block three shots but just has really been in tune with the scouting reports. He gets to the ball screens, communicates to the guards and has really improved with the ball at a high, high level.”
Four players carried the load in the first half for Milwaukee, which jumped out to a 42-38 lead at the break. Freeman, Brown and Pullian accounted for all of the first 23 points for the Panthers; Bol joined the mix with eight quick points after that and those four players scored each of the team’s first 40 points.
“I didn’t really process that it was four guys doing most of the scoring, but as we’ve done all year, it’s been different guys,” Lundy said. “I felt we had a bunch of guys locked in today.”
The Panthers, in an effort led by Browning, held Colonials leading scorer Enoch Cheeks, who entered the game averaging 17.8 points, to just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.
“We gave him that assignment on Tuesday and kind of challenged him,” Lundy said. “I could see it right away in his eyes that he was taking it seriously. A lot of credit to good team defense, but ‘Keith’ really made it hard for him.”
Subscriber Comments:
Kenneth J - Nice to see the success of the Panther team.
Boris S - Fun team to watch
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Post by PantherU on Jan 20, 2023 15:49:48 GMT -6
Browning was a liability tonight. It really shows that he was a PBS recruit, but hot damn is BJ Freeman always a breath of fresh air. Markeith Browning dominated Enoch Cheeks defensively last night. |
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Post by ghostofpbj on Jan 21, 2023 10:07:18 GMT -6
Browning was a liability tonight. It really shows that he was a PBS recruit, but hot damn is BJ Freeman always a breath of fresh air. Markeith Browning dominated Enoch Cheeks defensively last night. The guy has no idea what he’s talking about. Markeith has been one of our best players all season, and yes he had a turnover issue early on but he’s righted that ship for the most part. He’s our best defender and I fully expect him to continue guarding the opponent’s best player each game. Anyone who fails to see his defensive value isn’t actually watching the games. |
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Post by Anonymous Quokka on Jan 22, 2023 0:05:42 GMT -6
Markeith Browning dominated Enoch Cheeks defensively last night. The guy has no idea what he’s talking about. Markeith has been one of our best players all season, and yes he had a turnover issue early on but he’s righted that ship for the most part. He’s our best defender and I fully expect him to continue guarding the opponent’s best player each game. Anyone who fails to see his defensive value isn’t actually watching the games. You've made your point that you don't handle differing opinions well and that you don't care to inquire why someone might have them. Are you done? Do you want to celebrate the Panthers' excellent win tonight or do you want to keep being miserable, as you tried to accuse me of? |
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Post by Duct_Tape_Pounce on Jan 22, 2023 0:35:22 GMT -6
Browning was a liability tonight. It really shows that he was a PBS recruit, but hot damn is BJ Freeman always a breath of fresh air. Markeith Browning dominated Enoch Cheeks defensively last night. Agreed. From what I’ve seen, his one major downside is that he sometimes plays too aggressive. For a while, it was common to see him for three fouls in the first half. He seems to have that a bit under control now. To his credit, he was a good pickup from PBS. But he needed a real coach to unlock a lot of his ability. |
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SRT4driver
Junior
We Are MILWAUKEE! And I'm all about accountability, unlike '5th Placer' Jeter apologists.
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Post by SRT4driver on Jan 22, 2023 13:09:41 GMT -6
Browning and Rand had some words earlier. Rand gave Markeith a little shove. Something isnt right with Rand it seems It's that Rand is just an awful player and the teamis realizing it IMO. He's completely unplayable vs mediocre or better competition. And the only reason he plays at all altogether is that we literally have nobody else as a big man aside from Bol. Having to play minutes to Rand and Johnson are the biggest things holding this team back aside from turnovers. Those 2 are so bad and we would 100% be better off playing all perimeter guys and going super small instead of them. All the advanced analytics/stats out there vehemently disagree with these takes about Rand. He's actually our 3rd most productive player this season, increasing our chances of winning any given game by more than anyone but Freeman and Pullian: barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?year=2023&p=Ahmad%20Rand&t=Milwaukee |
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SRT4driver
Junior
We Are MILWAUKEE! And I'm all about accountability, unlike '5th Placer' Jeter apologists.
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Post by SRT4driver on Jan 22, 2023 13:27:35 GMT -6
And I agree that despite his athleticism and lockdown D, Browning has shown some very questionable judgement on offense - which often leads to an inordinate amount of TO's, missed open teammates, bad shots, etc etc. I don't know if it's selfishness or what, but it's definitely something. And guess what? All of that shows up in his advanced stats & metrics, making him less valuable to the team - and less responsible for our wins, and more responsible for our losses - than players like Rand, Bol, and even Jalen Johnson! It really is possible to offset your good play and plays, with bad ones. Bottom of the page for our player stats and rankings: barttorvik.com/team.php?filter=all&year=2023&team=Milwaukee |
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Post by TBone on Jan 22, 2023 15:28:37 GMT -6
It's that Rand is just an awful player and the teamis realizing it IMO. He's completely unplayable vs mediocre or better competition. And the only reason he plays at all altogether is that we literally have nobody else as a big man aside from Bol. Having to play minutes to Rand and Johnson are the biggest things holding this team back aside from turnovers. Those 2 are so bad and we would 100% be better off playing all perimeter guys and going super small instead of them. All the advanced analytics/stats out there vehemently disagree with these takes about Rand. He's actually our 3rd most productive player this season, increasing our chances of winning any given game by more than anyone but Freeman and Pullian: barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?year=2023&p=Ahmad%20Rand&t=MilwaukeeRand went 5-5 with ten points against one of the best big men in the country. He's had miserable games against players that weren't all that good. I don't buy the "he can't play against quality players thing" either. And I agree that despite his athleticism and lockdown D, Browning has shown some very questionable judgement on offense - which often leads to an inordinate amount of TO's, missed open teammates, bad shots, etc etc. I don't know if it's selfishness or what, but it's definitely something. And guess what? All of that shows up in his advanced stats & metrics, making him less valuable to the team - and less responsible for our wins, and more responsible for our losses - than players like Rand, Bol, and even Jalen Johnson! It really is possible to offset your good play and plays, with bad ones. Bottom of the page for our player stats and rankings: barttorvik.com/team.php?filter=all&year=2023&team=MilwaukeeMarkeith seems to try to play faster than he's physically capable of at times, resulting in turnovers. But he's one of the best players we have (other than Freeman) at breaking down a defender on the dribble when they're playing man. He can, and does get to the hoop often and finishes well in many of those cases. |
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Post by Cactus Panther on Jan 22, 2023 15:56:20 GMT -6
It's that Rand is just an awful player and the teamis realizing it IMO. He's completely unplayable vs mediocre or better competition. And the only reason he plays at all altogether is that we literally have nobody else as a big man aside from Bol. Having to play minutes to Rand and Johnson are the biggest things holding this team back aside from turnovers. Those 2 are so bad and we would 100% be better off playing all perimeter guys and going super small instead of them. All the advanced analytics/stats out there vehemently disagree with these takes about Rand. He's actually our 3rd most productive player this season, increasing our chances of winning any given game by more than anyone but Freeman and Pullian: barttorvik.com/playerstat.php?year=2023&p=Ahmad%20Rand&t=MilwaukeeAs Scott Warras talked with Bart Lundy last night on the radio broadcast, how Rand is "between the ears" is a big factor in how he plays from one game to the next, or even within a game. I am not aware of any analytics for that. In his postgame interview he seems authentic and unguarded - more than I have heard from a player in a long time. It starts at 2:16:19 tun.in/tqY6uy |
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