MILWAUKEE – BJ Freeman scored 28 points to lead the way but Green Bay found a way to force overtime and pull out a close victory on two separate last-second shots in claiming an 80-79 OT decision over the Milwaukee men's basketball team Monday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Give Green Bay a lot of credit," head coach Bart Lundy said. "They came in, they played free, they made 16 3's on us … they made big shot after big shot. Zeigler made two huge ones. I will take the blame for our side. I didn't have them as prepared for that 3-2 zone as they needed to be. Hopefully this group can learn from it."
 
The Panthers (16-8, 10-4 Horizon League) held a 71-68 point lead late in regulation before the Phoenix (3-22, 2-12 Horizon League) sank a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to force extra time. The visitors did it again in the extra period, hitting the game-winner with just 1.3 left on the clock before an MKE three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out to help them escape with the road victory.
 
"I do think they would agree that we lost our 'edge' over the last week," Lundy said. "We talked about 'how do we get our edge back'? It's a game that pivots on a few plays and you need to be prepared to make those plays."
 
Freeman played a key role all evening and looked to have finally helped Milwaukee put Green Bay away. His drive to the bucket and free throw with 30 seconds left in regulation broke a 68-all tie and made it 71-68.
 
But Davin Zeigler saved the day for the Phoenix, connecting on a three with 1.1 remaining to send it to an extra session. The Panthers again led late in OT, taking a 79-78 advantage with 12.1 seconds left on a pair of Elijah Jamison free throws before Zeigler once again provided the go-ahead basket, this time on a jumper from the wing. Freeman had a contested look at the buzzer which rimmed out as the horn sounded.
 
"We had a chance at the end – I could have used the timeout a little earlier and we had a foul to give," Lundy said of the end of regulation. "Rolled the dice, we missed the free throw, and they got a three off at the end to send it to overtime."
 
Freeman added five rebounds and five assists to his performance, going 6-for-6 from the line to extend his season streak to 25 straight from the charity stripe.
 
Markeith Browning II compiled his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Kentrell Pullian finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
 
Randy Tucker led GB with 20 points, adding eight rebounds. Zeigler finished with 18 points and added six assists and six rebounds.
 
The game was back-and-forth all night, seeing seven ties and 12 lead changes. Fast-forward to late in the second half when Green Bay had grabbed a 60-59 advantage on one of its 16 made 3-pointers on the evening. Pullian had a quick response, hitting a triple of his own to flip the scoreboard and then making it 68-65 with a layup on the next possession.
 
In overtime, the Panthers trailed briefly at 75-73 before Freeman added a layup and a reverse lay-in on back-to-back possessions to make it 77-75, only to see another Phoenix three put the visitors back ahead by a point with just over a minute remaining in overtime.
 
For the contest, MKE finished at 40.8 percent (29-of-71) from the floor overall, making 29 percent (9-of-31) from distance. The defense held GB in check at 39.4 percent (26-of-66), but the 16 made 3's helped balance out the scoring. MKE claimed lopsided advantages of 51-36 in rebounding and 40-14 in the paint.
 
Up next the Panthers are in the midst of a huge three-game stretch at home. Up next is a visit from Detroit Mercy, set to get underway at 7 p.m. Thursday evening.