MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team scored a school-record 66 second-half points in claiming a 118-62 victory over Lakeland University Monday night in the 2024-25 season opener at the Klotsche Center.
 
The Panthers (1-0) used a huge second half, shooting 66.7 percent (28-of-42) after the break to top the Muskies, scoring the second-most points in a game in the program's NCAA Division I history – just off the record of 125.
 
Seven different players scored in double-figures, led by an impressive double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds by newcomer Jamichael Stillwell. He finished 8-of-12 from the floor and did it all off the bench in just 20 minutes of action.
 
Erik Pratt and AJ McKee each added 14 points, Faizon Fields and Aaron Franklin both contributed 12, while Themus Fulks and Kentrell Pullian each chipped in with 11 on the night.
 
Fulks added seven assists and no turnovers, McKee had a game-high eight assists, and Pullian just missed the school record in steals, finishing one off the mark with a career-best seven thefts.
 
The MKE offense jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but the Muskies started hitting from deep and were back within seven a few minutes later at 23-16 and again at 28-21. The game went to the half with the lead standing at 52-33.
 
"I thought we were a little loose in the first half," head coach Bart Lundy said. "They made four of their first six three's, I think, and made it fairly interesting early. At halftime, we talked as a group about playing for each other, having more joy, getting other people shots, and staying connected defensively. I told them the crowd was on the edge of their seats waiting for us to show some connectivity and really play together. I thought they took that to heart and we played really unselfishly in the second half."
 
The Panthers turned it up another level after intermission and used a 13-0 run, capped by a three-point play from Fulks to build the advantage to 67-37 at the 16:26 mark.
"It broke open, we pressed them four or five possessions in the second half just to break it open a bit more – I thought we did a good job with that," Lundy said. "Inside guys, obviously, Jamichael, Faizon, Duffy, Aaron … they didn't have an answer for those guys. Really happy to see those guys dominate the game."
 
The lead never dropped below 30 again, with a late 18-0 run turning it into a blowout when the lead was nearly doubled at 113-57.
 
"They played the right way," Lundy said. "They shared the ball; they were happy for each other. There was a lot of joy out there. And we were more connected defensively – shots were more contested. I thought we would dominate the glass and that's about as good as you get.
 
For the game, Milwaukee shot 58.0 percent (47-of-81) from the floor overall, hitting on 73.1 percent (19-of-26) from the line. The team dominated the glass, 56-24, and scored 80 points in the paint. The defense held Lakeland to 30 percent in the second half to finish at 36.2 percent (21-of-58) overall.
 
The 56 rebounds were just off the school record of 59 for a game. The 56-point margin of victory tied for the fourth-largest, the +32 rebound margin was the second-highest in program history (record is +36) and the 28 assists ties for fourth-best (tops is 32).
 
Up next, the team hits the road for a contest at Northern Iowa Thursday, set for a 7 p.m. tipoff.