MILWAUKEE – BJ Freeman scored 23 points in his return from injury and Kentrell Pullian added 20 points to lead the Milwaukee men's basketball team to a 91-83 victory over Wright State Sunday afternoon at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (7-7, 2-1 Horizon League) used a big scoring run in the second half to take control against the Raiders (6-8, 1-2 Horizon League), holding a double-digit lead until the final made basket of the contest to push their winning streak to three games in a row.
 
"We kind of got pushed around in the first half – they were more physical than we were," head coach Bart Lundy said about WSU. "I thought our pressure was way better in the second half. We got them sped up and then obviously we had an offensive explosion. In the second half everything started to open up and I thought when we really started to play well it was great to see the spirit of our team and our fans and it became fun. With the struggle we have been through, that's the first time it's been fun to be there and be in the atmosphere since maybe early in the year."
 
Freeman, who had not played since November 25 due to injury (missed last 6 games), came off the bench to lead the way with 23 points, adding a team-high six rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes of action. Freeman connected on 8-of-11 shots from the field and hit 5-of-7 from three-point range, including a late three that put the game away and made it 87-72 after WSU had tried to get back in it.
 
"He opens up so many things," Lundy said of Freeman. "He draws attention and then can make the right play. He scored points tonight but he also finds guys. He will find the shooters and especially offensively, he makes everyone's life a little bit easier."
 
Pullian kept his hot streak rolling, scoring 20-or-more for the third game in a row. His 20 today came on 7-fo-14 shooting from the floor while adding four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
 
Erik Pratt was next up with 15 points, all coming on a 5-of-8 effort from distance, and Darius Duffy chipped in with a line of 8 points/6 rebounds/3 steals/2 blocks. The offense ended the day with 16 made 3's, not far off from the school record of 18 and the most in a game since 2011.
 
Wright State was led by 25 points from Tanner Holden, with Brandon Noel recording a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. The MKE defense held Trey Calvin, who came into the day leading the league at 20.8 ppg, to a season-low 11 points.
 
The home team started a touch slow but things turned around quickly when Freeman made his first appearance at the 14:22 mark of the first. He quickly collected a pair of rebounds and assists before hitting his first three, spurring an 11-2 run that put the Panthers ahead 19-15.
 
WSU pushed back and led by five at the break, 41-36, connecting on nearly 60 percent of its field goals in the first 20 minutes. The visitors eventually grabbed a 49-40 lead at the 16:57 mark.
 
Freeman hit a three on the next possession and the comeback was on. Pullian connected from deep and, following another stop on defense, it was a new game at 49-49 when Angelo Stuart came up with a huge three of his own.
 
WSU was ahead 55-53 when the next surge came, seeing MKE score 12 of the next 14 points of the game, with an emphatic dunk by Faizon Fields making the scoreboard 65-57 and get the crowd on its feet.
 
The lead grew to 12 at 71-59 on another Fields' dunk, but the Raiders weren't done yet. They scored seven straight before a Pratt 3 stopped the momentum. Back-and-forth for a bit, Freeman hit another triple to push the lead back to 10 at 82-72 and his three-pointer with 2:52 left was the backbreaker and gave Milwaukee a 15-point lead at 87-72. The visitors finally got back under 10 on their final make of the afternoon in the closing moments.
 
For the game, the Panthers shot 54.8 percent (34-of-62) overall, including a red-hot 67.7 percent (21-of-31) in the second half alone. Overall, the team went on a 31-10 run after falling down 49-40, scoring on 13 of 14 possessions at one point. The 16 makes on 30 attempts from deep resulted in 53.3 percent. WSU grabbed the 29-28 edge on the boards, while finishing the day at 54.8 percent (34-of-62) from the floor overall.
 
Up next, Milwaukee opens up 2024 with a league road trip to the state of Michigan, starting with a contest at Oakland Jan. 4. Tip time against the Golden Grizzlies is 6 p.m. CT.