DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Aaron Franklin hit the game-winning basket with just 0.2 seconds left in the contest to send the Milwaukee men's basketball team to a thrilling 61-59 victory over Siena Tuesday night at the Ocean Center.
 
"It's good to come out on top," head coach Bart Lundy said. "We actually shot normal percentages in the second half and I think we see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're going to break through this really hard struggle we have been having in this first half of the year. I think we are finding an identity – we just had to battle tonight. I thought we made a bunch of hustle plays down the stretch the final two minutes."
 
The Panthers (3-3) came up with three different offensive rebounds on the final possession, seeing Franklin grab the decisive one and lay it in to top the Saints (1-4) in a game at the "Sunshine Slam" that featured nine ties and 26 lead changes on the night.
 
"Anybody that is following us knows that we have struggled," Lundy said. "We have struggled offensively and struggled making shots. But we are a much better team than what we have shown. And I think we saw a character tonight that these guys really want to win."
 
BJ Freeman, who was named to the Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket All-Tournament Team, led the way with 18 points, but it was a cast of other players who also added huge moments down the stretch.
 
Freeman added four rebounds, four assists, and two steals, and was joined in double-figures by Markeith Browning II, who finished with a season-high 13 points while adding four rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Franklin finished with just the two points, adding his only rebound of the night on the winner in addition to his only steal of the game which set up the game-winning possession when the contest was tied at 59-all with 22 seconds remaining.
 
Zach Howell had three points, but it was a huge shot that gave the contest its 25^th lead change at the 3:23 mark, putting the Panthers ahead, 56-53, at the time on a three from the wing.
 
Faizon Fields played a big role, chipping in nine points and seven boards, while adding a block and a steal. The steal came in a vital spot, diving into the press row table to set up Freeman for a three on the break that put MKE ahead, 51-50, with just over five minutes to play.
 
"Faizon was great in the second half – we are a different team when we have that Faizon," Lundy said. "Aaron Franklin making the steal and then obviously, the game-winner. We got three shots on that possession and they really wanted to win."
 
The second half was non-stop back-and-forth, featuring 17 of the lead changes and eight of the ties over the final 20 minutes alone.
 
It was Fields down the stretch, connecting on a pair of free throws to inch the Panthers ahead by three at the 2:12 mark at 59-56 before blocking the next Siena possession out of play. The Saints would eventually tie the game again on a three-point play at the 1:06 mark, setting the stage for Franklin's heroics.
 
Milwaukee used a 10-0 run out of the gates in the second half to flip the script, turning a 25-20 deficit at the break into a 30-25 advantage at the 17:34 mark of the period on a jumper from Kentrell Pullian.
 
The Panthers connected on 46.4 percent (13-of-28) of their field goal attempts in the second period after a cold start to the game. The defense limited the Saints to 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the floor overall and Milwaukee turned the ball over just nine times on the night.
 
Up next, the team is off for Thanksgiving before returning to the Klotsche Center court Saturday against Southern Mississippi. The game will be the second of a women's/men's doubleheader, with the first game starting at 11 a.m. (against Central Michigan) before the men tip off with the Golden Eagles at 1:30 p.m.