MILWAUKEE – Themus Fulks scored a season-high 24 points and made three free throws in the final 11.8 seconds to help the Milwaukee men's basketball team claim a gritty 76-74 victory over Wofford Saturday at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (4-2) used a huge second half to top the Terriers (2-4), shooting 63.6 percent (14-of-22) after intermission to run their winning streak to three games overall while moving to a perfect 2-0 on the weekend in the Cream City Challenge, presented by Cream City Mortgage.
 
"The Wofford program, I have so much respect for, and I think as the season goes along, they will be recognized as one of the better mid-majors in the country," head coach Bart Lundy said. "You could tell; not a lot of rest with the second game in two days, both teams were a little banged up and it took a while to get going. I am extremely proud of our guys, because there were times when we could have folded … down nine, things not going well … those guys came to the huddle and cut it back and just kept grinding it out."
 
Fulks went 7-of-9 from the free throw line and connected on 8-of-13 shots from the floor, adding four assists to his 24-point total. AJ McKee was right behind with 21 points, going 8-of-12 from the floor while playing the final 16-plus minutes of the night with four fouls.
 
Jamichael Stillwell just missed his third consecutive double-double, scoring eight points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Kentrell Pullian was close as well, finishing with a 9-point/9-rebound outing.
 
Dillon Bailey and Corey Tripp led Wofford with 18 points apiece.
 
"It was a test of our will because it was a frustrating game, as far as just missing the free throws [19-of-33] and open 3's, missing little bunnies at the rim," Lundy said. "But, perseverance, leadership – we made a bunch of plays down the stretch. Themus (Fulks) was huge and Jamichael (Stillwell) on the glass – I think he got the last three or four defensive rebounds which were huge."
 
Fulks came through in a huge way down the stretch when the outcome was hanging in the balance. He scored on a big drive to the hoop at the 2-minute mark, following up with the free throw to put MKE back ahead with the 10^th lead change of the evening at 69-68. On the ensuing possession he drove and banked in an off-balance leaner that made the score 71-69 with 1:18 to play. From there, his effort from the charity stripe sealed the decision and proved vital when the Terriers banked in a three-point heave from just inside halfcourt as time expired.
 
The first half was a heavyweight fight, with teams trading punches in a physical affair. Down five with 73 seconds remaining, Fulks hit a three and then went coast-to-coast to beat the buzzer to pull within a point at 30-29 at the break.
 
Wofford came out strong in the second, eventually growing its lead to nine at 46-37 at the 14:54 mark and still at seven at 49-42 a few minutes later. From there, it was all Panthers, as a 10-0 run gave the team momentum, edging back ahead on a tip-in at 52-50 by John Lovelace Jr.
 
For the game, the MKE offense wound up at 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the floor overall and still pulled out the win despite a tough-luck night from the line, ending at 57.6 percent (19-of-33). Wofford came up just short of half (.492/30-of-61) from the floor but Milwaukee won the battle of the boards, 40-31.
 
Up next, the team looks to claim the Cream City Challenge title, going up against St. Thomas at 1:30 p.m. following the Portland State/Wofford game set to tip at 11 a.m. A note to fans, there will be a minimum of 40 minutes on the clock between games to allow for proper warm-ups for both teams.