INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Milwaukee men's basketball team scored the final six points of the night and held IUPUI scoreless on its final six attempts from the field to claim a 75-70 victory Wednesday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
The Panthers (16-14, 11-8 Horizon League) dug out of a deep early 15-point hole against the Jaguars (6-24, 2-17 Horizon League) by halftime and then closed with a punch, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line while not allowing anything on the other end to pick up the comeback road victory, extending their winning streak in the all-time series to eight in a row.
 
"We did what we had to do down the stretch," head coach Bart Lundy said. "I wish we played a little bit better but we will take it and get out of here. We had some really huge defensive rebounds and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line when it mattered."
 
BJ Freeman led the way with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, finishing with 20+ points for the sixth game in a row – the longest such stretch for an MKE player since the 1994-95 campaign. Freeman went 8-for-8 from the line on the night, including four of the final six in the last minute of regulation, putting his team ahead for good on a pair of makes with 46.7 seconds left.
 
"We really were playing disconnected offensively and turning it over," Lundy said about the start of the game. "Those early turnovers hurt us and they built a big lead. We chipped away at it and were able to come back by halftime. There is something about this building that really makes us struggle – but give them credit. They still have a lot of fight in them. They are very athletic, very fast, and we are just fortunate to get out of here with a win."
 
Faizon Fields was next with 14 points, adding eight rebounds and a career-high four steals. Fields was 8-of-10 at the line, including a pair that extended the lead from one to three at 73-70 with 12 seconds left.
 
Erik Pratt rounded out the team members in double-figures, scoring 13. Jlynn Counter led the Jaguars with 15 points, one of four players in double-figures.
 
The start did not go the way the team wanted, finding itself down 9-0 and 14-2 before IUPUI claimed what would be its biggest lead of the evening at 19-4.
 
The Panthers never panicked. Freeman hit a 3 to force a timeout at 19-11, and Milwaukee was already back to a one-possession game when Freeman drilled another trifecta to cut the deficit to 26-23.
 
The Panthers found themselves back ahead before the halftime horn, with back-to-back baskets from Kentrell Pullian giving the team a brief 31-30 edge while capping a 20-9 run.
 
Pratt put MKE back ahead to open the second and then the game was textbook back-and-forth the rest of the way featuring 10 ties and six lead changes.
 
Milwaukee looked to have things under control next, eventually building a 54-46 advantage with 11:20 to go.
 
But, the Jags had one more push, scoring 12 of the next 16 points to make it a new game at 58-all. Dominic Ham had the Panthers back ahead briefly at 63-62 before Freeman would provide the start of the deciding run in the closing minute.
 
The MKE offense wrapped up the night at 43.9 percent (25-of-57) and helped themselves by shooting 84.6 percent (22-of-26) from the line. The defense limited IUPUI to 42.6 percent (26-of-61), including just 15.4 (2-of-13) from downtown.
 
Up next, the regular season comes to a close Saturday, with the Panthers set to host Green Bay in a game that was selected for the ESPN Horizon League Game of the Week. Tip time is now set for 5 p.m. downtown against the Phoenix, with the matchup now airing nationally on ESNPU.