MILWAUKEE – Faizon Fields tied his career high with 21 points and added a season-high nine rebounds to lead the charge as the Milwaukee men's basketball team took care of Youngstown State, 79-64, Friday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (13-6, 6-2 Horizon League) built a comfortable lead by intermission against the Penguins (11-8, 6-3 Horizon League) and then took over when the game got tighter down the stretch to improve to 9-0 at home this season.
 
Fields was spectacular, converting 9-of-10 from the floor while adding a pair of blocks. His 21 points were part of an enormous 62 total points in the paint on the night, as the MKE offense dominated the paint, 62-28, and won handily despite a tough night from the free throw line and being held without a made three-pointer for the first time in over a decade.
 
"I don't know if that was the most aesthetically-pleasing game ever,"
 head coach Bart Lundy said. "But I thought our first 24 minutes of defense was about as good as we have played. Which was good because we didn't play great offense. I thought our bigs were phenomenal, we just have to get a little more from the perimeter. Whatever my coaching philosophy about analytics is … we were not on that pattern tonight. I know it's been 11 years since Milwaukee did not make a three, but that may be the first time in my career that one of my teams did not make a three. But we still scored 79 points, left 15 free throws on the table, so I can't complain too much."
 
Fields was one of four players to finish in double-figures, joined by 18 points from Themus Fulks and 10 apiece from both Jamichael Stillwell and Danilo Jovanovich. Stillwell came up with 10 rebounds for his 12^th double-double of the season, while Jovanovich added a career-high seven rebounds to go along with those 10 points that also set a new NCAA-best for him.
 
The Panthers crushed the Penguins on the glass, 43-28, and turned the ball over just eight times. The defense held the opposition to 39.2 percent (20-of-51) and 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from deep.
 
AJ McKee chipped in nine points, with Erik Pratt finishing with nine points and six rebounds.
 
"Sometimes you have to go with what's going well – we only turned it over eight times, outrebounded them by 15, and scored a boatload of points in the paint. Sometimes as a coach, you just take the win, you tuck it away, go to sleep, wake up tomorrow, and shoot some three's and free throws in practice," Lundy joked.
 
Chris Carroll and Jason Nelson each led YSU with 14 points apiece.
 
After a few early lead changes, the MKE offense kicked it into overdrive and was eventually up 23-16. A Fields dunk made it 27-18 and forced a Youngstown State timeout and the lead hit double-figures for the first time at 33-23 on a pair of Fields' free throws at the 2:55 mark.
 
Milwaukee eventually would build a lead to as many as 17 at 60-43 before the 'Guins pushed back. A 13-3 run by the visitors made it 63-56 on a 4-point play at the 6:39 mark but Stillwell helped shut down the comeback with a putback before McKee added six straight points to give MKE the 72-58 advantage and complete control back to the home side.
 
The Panthers finished at 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the floor overall despite an 0-for-5 showing from deep – the first time since January of 2014 the team was held without a made three-pointer. Now 9-0 at home, the team has won 12 consecutive home games dating back to last season.
 
Up next, the team closes out the three-game homestand hosting Robert Morris Sunday. Game time against the Colonials is set for 2 p.m.