DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – To say it's been a whirlwind 365 days for the Milwaukee men's basketball program would be an understatement.
On March 19, 2022,
Bart Lundy was named the eighth head coach since Milwaukee's 1990 move to NCAA Division I and, exactly one year later, his team captured the program's first postseason victory in 17 years behind one of the greatest single-game offensive performances in the 33-year history of the program.
BJ Freeman led the charge, finishing with a monster day as Milwaukee outlasted Stetson, 87-83, in overtime in the opening round of the 2023 Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational Sunday night at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center.
"We struggled a little bit in the first half, we couldn't score," Lundy said. "We hadn't seen the court until 20 minutes before we played – those were the first shots we had taken in the building. They have an NBA line (on the court) and I think we were taking a lot of NBA-three's. But we came back, we fought, we got stops defensively and then BJ had an unbelievable game and really carried us. He scored 43 on 20 shots … that's pretty good."
Freeman finished with 43 points to set a new career-high as well as break the CBI single-game scoring record of 39 set back in 2008, helping the Panthers (22-11) overcome a nine-point second-half deficit against the Hatters (17-14) to claim MKE's first postseason victory since defeating Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March of 2006.
Freeman's output tied for the second-most points in a game in school history, trailing only the school-record 50-point performance of Von McDade back in December of 1990. It was the first 40-point outing for a Panther in over 20 years (and just the seventh all-time), the last coming from Clay Tucker when he recorded 40 against Wright State in December of 2003.
"He did have a special game and we needed every bit of it," Lundy said of Freeman. "They were box-and-1 a good bit of that second half and he was able to make play after play. BJ is a special player and he's really given his heart and soul to us."
Freeman finished 10-of-20 from the floor and an impressive 20-of-22 from the free-throw line, setting new school and CBI single-game records with both his 20 made free throws and 22 attempts from the charity stripe. He also added seven rebounds.
Freeman was one of just four players to reach double-figures, however, joined by
Elijah Jamison (12 points/7 rebounds/a huge 3 late in regulation),
Ahmad Rand (12 points/3 rebounds/2 blocks), and
Kentrell Pullian (10 points/7 rebounds/4 assists).
Justin Thomas chipped in seven points and a team-high nine boards.
Stetson was paced by Jalen Blackmon and his 22 points, as well as a huge double-double of 18 points and 20 rebounds from Mahamadou Diawara, with the 20 boards just one off the most-ever recorded in a game against the Panthers.
A back-and-forth first half featured 10 lead changes with Freeman accounting for 18 in the opening period that saw the Hatters grab a 37-35 advantage at intermission. Stetson came out strong in the second, running out to a lead as large as nine at 49-40 and again at 54-45.
That was when the Panthers would come alive, led by six points from Freeman and a pair of dunks from Rand, the second coming on the fastbreak that gave MKE the 62-60 lead with 9:14 to play and capped a 17-6 scoring run.
It was short-lived, however, as Stetson would respond with seven straight and eventually take a 70-64 advantage at the 4:36 mark. Freeman hit a 3 to cap five straight and Pullian scored on a circus drive to tie the game at 71-71 with under two minutes to play.
After the Hatters scored again, Jamison calmly sank a three from the corner to grab a 74-73 advantage. A quick three made it a two-point deficit, setting the stage for Freeman to force a 76-76 tie on a tough floater down the lane with 13.9 seconds left. Milwaukee then made a final defensive stand and the contest headed to overtime.
The defense showed up in full force in the extra period, holding the Hatters to just 2-of-11 shooting, including misses on all six shots from long-range. Pullian made a pair of free throws to make it 82-80 and Freeman kept his night from the line going with two final insurance tosses to run the lead to 87-83 with 15.3 seconds left.
Milwaukee held Stetson to 36.4 percent (28-of-77) from the floor overall, helping overcome a field-goal mark below 40 percent (.380) itself. The Hatters won the rebound battle, 57-42, but Milwaukee turned the ball over just nine times to help its cause, forcing 15 from the opponent.
Up next, the win sends the Panthers to a quarterfinal-round contest Monday, taking on Charlotte, who topped Western Carolina, 65-56, in round one. The game will tip off at 5:30 PM CST.
