MILWAUKEE – Themus Fulks led five players in double-figures with a game-high 23 points and the Milwaukee men's basketball team hit the 100-point plateau in regulation against an NCAA Division I opponent for the first time in over 20 years in recording a 100-81 victory over Akron Sunday.
 
The Panthers (8-4) opened the "MKE Tip Off" at Fiserv Forum with an impressive victory over the Zips (6-3), using a scoring run midway through the second half to break away before stomping on the gas pedal down the stretch in claiming the 19-point decision. The last time the team reached the century mark in regulation against a DI foe was in a 117-55 victory over Prairie View A&M on November 20, 2004. It also marks the third time under head coach Bart Lundy the team has netted 100+ in a contest.
 
"I want to thank Intersport for putting this on (the MKE Tip Off) and allowing us the opportunity to play here against a really quality Akron team," Lundy said. "We went into the game thinking that we've played some really good opponents in the non-conference … we thought this could be the best team that we played to date. So it's a really good win. Good win for our program. Good win for our fans."
 
Fulks went 10-for-17 from the floor and added seven assists and five rebounds, scoring 16 of his 23 after halftime.
 
Jamichael Stillwell continued his recent tear, posting his seventh double-double of the season – and third in a row – with 17 points while adding 18 rebounds. Over his last three outings, Stillwell has recorded an eye-opening 52 rebounds (15-19-18).
 
Kentrell Pullian finished with 19 points, adding six rebounds, five steals, and four assists. AJ McKee chipped in 14 points and Erik Pratt also had 14, including a stellar 4-of-5 showing from behind the three-point line while not missing a shot in the first half. Danilo Jovanovich continued his comeback from injury, chipping in eight points in 10 minutes.
 
Tavari Johnson led the Zips with 22 points, seeing Milwaukee snap their five-game winning streak in the process.
 
The MKE offense had a great day, finishing at 57.8 percent (37-of-64) from the floor overall, making 11-of-19 (.579) from long range. The team once again dominated the boards, finishing with an advantage of 46-28 on the afternoon. The Panthers were in control from start to finish, leading by as many as 17 in the opening 20 minutes and still by 13 at intermission.
 
"The 11 3's in the first half – if we shoot it like that, we become really hard to guard," Lundy said. "Highlight is Jamichael with another monster game. We thought we had to take away 3's and get defensive rebounds. That was two of the best rebounding teams in the country and won the rebounding battle by a lot – and I think that was a swing vote in the game."
 
Akron had one last final push and made it much closer with an 8-0 run to get back within five at 68-63 with 11:38 to play.
 
From there it was all Milwaukee, ripping off 10 unanswered points to take control. Pullian scored six of those points as the MKE response came over a span of two-and-a-half minutes and had the advantage back at 78-63 with just over eight minutes remaining.
 
"In the second half they made a push," Lundy said. "We challenged our guys in the huddle and they got seven straight stops after they cut it back to five. I thought that was the difference in the second half."
 
A dunk by McKee made it 94-81 and was essentially the clincher, seeing the Panthers also score the final nine points of the contest in front of a loud crowd at Fiserv Forum.
 
The fast-paced first half saw the Panthers build a lead of as many as 17, but every time it looked like it was going to be all MKE on the day, Akron would claw back in with mini-runs of its own to get back in it.
 
Pratt came off the bench red-hot, with his first three-pointer making it 14-7 and forcing an early timeout. He wasn't done there, connecting time and time again and after another Pratt triple the lead was 20-11. A stop on one end and another three – this time from McKee – gave Milwaukee the 23-11 advantage.
 
After a Zips' run, the lead was back to 10 at 27-17 on a Pullian steal and breakaway layup. The action really picked up the rest of the first half, with the advantage eventually topping out at 17 at 55-38 with 89 seconds left in the period. The 58 first-half points tied for fifth-most in a first half in program history.
 
The Panthers have two home games remaining to close out the month of December and both will be played on campus. Up next, the team welcomes North Central (Ill.) to campus next Sunday following finals week in school, set to start at 2 p.m. from the Klotsche Center.