MILWAUKEE – BJ Freeman led four players in double-figures with 19 points and Faizon Fields recorded a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way as the Milwaukee men's basketball team pulled away in the second half to claim an 87-67 victory over IUPUI Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.
 
The Panthers (12-11, 7-5 Horizon League) used a big second half to record their seventh consecutive victory over the Jaguars (6-19, 2-12 Horizon League), scoring 52 points over the final 20 minutes to breeze to the 20-point win.
 
"Their record is not indicative of how competitive they have been all year," head coach Bart Lundy said. "I don't think we were all the way locked in during the first half. We came out and had better pressure in the second half."
 
Freeman finished as the high scorer in the game with his 19, adding six rebounds and a game-high six assists. Fields was huge off the bench, going 7-of-8 from the floor for his 16 points, with his 12 rebounds marking his third consecutive outing of 10-or-more boards – the first Panther to accomplish that feat since 2018.
 
"I thought Faizon's play was exceptional and Angelo Stuart came in when we needed a couple of big baskets when we were not playing as confidently and he hit a couple of big ones," Lundy said. "But we got contributions from a lot of guys."
 
Erik Pratt finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Langston Wilson chipped in 10 points in just 13 minutes, making 5-of-6 from the floor including a pair of highlight-reel alley oops down the stretch. He also grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot.
 
Kentrell Pullian added nine and Angelo Stuart finished with eight, including a pair of three-pointers that came in a second-half stretch where the MKE offense put the game away.
 
Bryce Monroe paced the Jags with 18 points.
 
Following a tight first half, the visitors scored first following intermission to get back within three at 35-32 and were still within four at 40-36. From there it was all Milwaukee.
 
Fields made a couple of layups and Pullian completed a brilliant drive and free throw and then connected on a corner three that capped a 10-0 run and put the home team ahead, 50-36. Pratt made a three of his own to extend the lead to 15 at 53-38, yet IUPUI had one final surge to get back within nine at 55-46 with 12:20 to play.
 
A dunk from Fields changed momentum and Stuart's triple pushed it back to 13. Six in a row extended the margin to 20 on an alley-oop to Wilson and the lead would never get closer the rest of the way, getting to as many as 27.
 
The MKE offense connected on over 60 percent of its shots in the second to finish at 49.3 percent (34-of-69) on the afternoon. The defense showed up again, holding IUPUI to 36.7 percent (22-of-60) in the contest, the fourth consecutive outing the defense has held an opponent below 40 percent.
 
Milwaukee picked up the rebounding edge, 43-35, scored 50 points in the paint, and had 24 assists on 34 made field goals for its highest assist total of the season.
 
Up next, the Panthers head out of town for a vital stretch of the schedule, starting with the first meeting with Youngstown State this season. That matchup takes place Thursday, set for a tip off time of 5:30 p.m. CT.