MILWAUKEE – Jamichael Stillwell scored a season-high 22 points and Themus Fulks made a pair of free throws with 10. 3 seconds left and then came up with a steal on the next possession to help the Milwaukee men's basketball team earn a thrilling 69-65 victory over St. Thomas Sunday afternoon at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (5-2) knocked off the Tommies (4-4) to complete a perfect 3-0 weekend and claim the team title at the Cream City Challenge, presented by Cream City Mortgage.
 
Stillwell added eight rebounds to his game-high 22, going 7-13 from the floor (2-of-2 from deep) and 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
 
Aaron Franklin came off the bench to score 15 points and grab eight rebounds, taking over the game when the decision was hanging in the balance. Midway through the second half, with the visitors edging ahead, Franklin scored eight of the next 10 points to give Milwaukee control, tying the game at 44-44 before hitting three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the second giving MKE the 52-46 lead with 8:59 to play. The Panthers would not trail the rest of the way.
 
"It was a great game that could have gone either way," head coach Bart Lundy said. "We talked about Wofford yesterday and how much respect I had for them. I don't know that I knew a whole lot about St. Thomas when I took the job here. They were in the (NCAA) transition and just hadn't been around them in this region. To learn what I have learned about them the past three years, obviously two losses to them the first two years. Wow, are they well-coached … they are tough. To come out with a win here against that team – they are going to win a lot of games – is really good for our program."
 
Fulks finished with nine points, eight assists, and a career-high five steals. AJ McKee chipped in nine points and four rebounds, while Kentrell Pullian added a statline of 7 points/5 boards.
 
Drake Dobbs led the visitors with 16 points, one of three players to finish in double-figures.
 
"We played really well in the first half – they had trouble getting their footing," Lundy said. "But they threw haymakers in the second half. Really proud of our group. It's stressful – three games in three days – so it was growth for our team, it was growth for our program."
 
The MKE offense scored all of its 32 first-half points from the free-throw line or in the paint, building a 32-22 advantage with strong defense. They held the Tommies to just over 30 percent in the opening 20 minutes of action, building their biggest lead of the afternoon in the final seconds.
 
The Panthers still led, 39-31, before St. Thomas went on a run. Just two minutes later it was 39-all after eight quick ones before Stillwell hit a huge three-pointer to stop the stretch. Milwaukee then actually trailed, 44-42, before Franklin helped turn the tables.
 
In the end, Fulks hit a key jumper to make it 66-59 with 69 seconds left and then came up with the important free throws with 10.3 remaining before picking UST's pocket for the steal to seal the victory when the visitors still had a final opportunity to force overtime.
 
For the game, the MKE offense finished at 46.3 percent (25-of-54) overall, but did struggle again from the line at 59.1 percent (13-of-22). They held St. Thomas to under 40 percent (.396/21-of-53) and cleaned up on the glass to the count of 40-25, allowing just five offensive boards on the day.
 
Up next, the Panthers return to the road over the week of Thanksgiving, next hitting the court Wednesday at UCF in a game set to tip off at 6 p.m. CT.