MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Facing a deficit for the first time all game, the Milwaukee men's basketball team responded by making six straight field goals as part of a 12-3 run that sparked the team to a 74-65 victory over Minnesota Wednesday night at Williams Arena.
Jordan Johnson was everywhere in leading Milwaukee to its second victory over the Big Ten this season, finishing a rebound short of a triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists and nine boards.
The Panthers (9-4) led or were tied with the Gophers (6-6) for all but 22 seconds on the night, turning the game around in the middle of the second half with that decisive scoring run before making enough free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
"It was just what we needed," Milwaukee head coach
Rob Jeter said. "We have had some tough losses this year. Our four losses might total up to 13 points. We have always found a way to bounce back after a tough, emotional loss and tonight was big for us to do that in a place where we were hoping to play well."
Johnson was one of five different players to reach double-figures on a night the team finished shooting 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the floor.
"Not only Jordan, but I thought each guy had a key moment at the right time – a big rebound, a big shot, a big stop, a big drive to the hoop, highlighted by Jordan's performance – he was phenomenal," Jeter said.
All five starters netted 10 or more.
Akeem Springs finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and
J.J. Panoske was close to a double-double, putting up 12 points and eight boards while nearly tying the school record for blocks in a game (6), finishing with five.
Matt Tiby (10 points/6 rebounds) and
Austin Arians (10) points rounded out the list, helping the Panthers to their first-ever victory over Minnesota.
Carlos Morris led the Gophers with 24 points, one of three in double-figures.
Minnesota took its first lead of the game at 43-41, but a jumper by Johnson and a fastbreak layup by Springs with Johnson assisting flipped the advantage back in the Panthers favor just like that at 45-43 with 14:55 to play. Panoske's dunk in transition made it 47-44 at the 14:32 mark and the run was on.
Milwaukee made six baskets in a row, forcing a Minnesota timeout after the scoring run grew to 12-3. The Panthers were in complete control the rest of the way.
JayQuan McCloud's dazzling drive to the hoop gave UWM back a double-digit cushion at 63-53 with just over eight minutes to play and a 7-for-10 showing from the line over the final 64 seconds gave Milwaukee a program first – two victories over Big Ten foes in the same season for the first time.
The Panthers led by as many as 11 in the first half, settling for a 37-32 advantage at intermission.
They came out fast and quickly quieted the crowd, scoring the first eight points of the game – including three's by Panoske and Springs – to force an early Gopher timeout less than two minutes into the evening.
The lead grew to 15-5 at the first media timeout, and a 10-2 run capped by a Panoske triple made it 18-7 at the 14:20 mark.
Milwaukee started 6 of 8 from the floor but Minnesota responded. Seven in a row got the Gophers back in the game but Springs extended the lead back to eight at the 10:03 mark on a layup that was counted after a goaltending call. The game was tied three times, the first at 28-28, but Milwaukee would never trail the first 20 minutes.
The Panthers are off over the holidays, returning to the court in 2016 with the first Horizon League contest of the season. Milwaukee welcomes Wright State to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena Saturday, January 2. Tip time is set for 3 p.m.
"Looking at our schedule I was a little nervous," Jeter said of the opening non-league portion of the schedule. "I thought early we really put ourselves in a difficult position. We scheduled a few too many games in a row, too early from coast to coast. But we have a veteran group and figured that would be our saving grace."
