MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team went 5-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 31 seconds of regulation to secure a 90-86 victory over Hampton in the season opener Monday evening at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (1-0) built a first-half lead to as many as 14 before the Pirates (0-1) came storming back, cutting the lead down to a one-possession game down the stretch before the team secured the win from the line.
 
"I thought it was a game where we learned a lot," head coach Bart Lundy said. "It wasn't very pretty at times – the obvious stat that pops out is the free-throw shooting – we weren't able to put them [Hampton] away. But there were some stretches where we really looked like the team we can become. There were a lot of fouls called, and they are an old, veteran team – they have guys that have played a lot of college basketball so it's not surprising they didn't go away."
 
Seth Hubbard put together an impressive effort in his MKE debut, leading the way with a team-high 23 points, scoring 18 of them in the first half as the home team built a 49-36 advantage at the break. He finished 9-of-16 from the floor, adding a 4-of-7 showing from downtown.
 
Freshman Stevie Elam played beyond his years, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in his collegiate debut, converting a key four-point play down the stretch when the game was on the line.
 
Four players finished in double-figures, with Faizon Fields coming up one rebound short of a double-double with his 16-point/9-rebound performance.
 
"I thought Seth (Hubbard) for a long time really carried us," Lundy said. "Sekou came in the first half and had a huge run. Faizon had been out, and it took him a while to get his legs under him. Even though he didn't make his free throws in the second half, I thought his play was excellent defensively and on the glass. A lot of contributions - Stevie was awesome. Amar was in serious foul trouble early and Stevie stepped in and made huge play after huge play. If we make free throws, it's a whole different conversation. But you have to make free throws. A lot to clean up and a lot to learn from and get better at. But I'd rather learn all these lessons with a win and these guys know that they didn't play their best, but we are 1-0 … so we will take it."
 
Newcomer Isaiah Dorceus chipped in 11 points and a team-best six assists to round out the double-figure scorers. Danilo Jovanovich grabbed 10 rebounds and added five points, while Sekou Konneh also had a solid collegiate debut with eight points and eight boards in 15 minutes of action.
 
Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt led Hampton with a game-high 25 points, with Xzavier Long nearly recording a triple-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists.
 
After an intense back-and-forth game, Milwaukee found itself in a position where every possession and every point mattered down the stretch. In the game's waning seconds, the Panthers dialed in at the charity stripe.
 
Amar Augillard made a pair with 31 seconds left to push the back to six at 87-81. Dorceus calmly converted a pair on the next possession, and Josh Dixon split the final two as the Panthers held off the Pirates to earn the season-opening victory.
 
Back-and-forth early, Milwaukee used a 17-4 spurt to take control, with a Hubbard triple capping the stretch to give MKE the 27-19 lead after Hampton had taken a 15-10 advantage.
 
The team built the cushion to 13 at the break and still led by 10 at 63-53 on a dunk by Fields with 11:12 to play. The Pirates were within four, but another spurt gave the Panthers back their double-figure lead at 74-63 when Elam grabbed a missed three and made the putback. That came one possession after he swished a three and was fouled to cap that four-point play.
 
On the night, Milwaukee finished at 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from the floor overall, connecting on 31.0 percent (9-of-29) from downtown. The team made just 54.8 percent (23-of-42) of its tosses from the charity stripe but connected with the game on the line.
 
Hampton wrapped up at 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the floor, also making nine 3's (9-24/.375) and converted at a 73.5 percent clip (25-of-34) from the line.
 
The Panthers had the edge in rebounds, 48-46, and had 20 assists to just nine turnovers to win the battle there, 18-9.
 
Up next, the team hits the road for their first game away from town, taking on Wofford Saturday. Tip time is set for 1 p.m. CT.
 
NOTES
Head coach Bart Lundy announced in the postgame press conference that senior John Lovelace Jr. will miss the season due to an injury suffered in practice October 30. No other updates on Lovelace's condition are available at this time.