MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team jumped out to a 28-7 lead and never looked back in handing Purdue Fort Wayne a 77-55 defeat Monday evening at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (7-6, 3-0 Horizon League) led the Mastodons (8-7, 2-2 Horizon League) by a score of 44-16 at the break and built the lead to as many as 35 in the blowout victory. The decision snapped the visitors winning streak on the season at four games and leaves Milwaukee as the lone unbeaten team in the early-season Horizon League standings.
 
Aaron Franklin led the charge, posting his first double-double as a Panther with 13 points and 13 rebounds, while limiting Corey Hadnot – the league's leading scorer at 20.9 ppg coming in – to just 14 points overall, and only four in the first half on 2-of-8 shooting.
 
"I thought this was, by far, the best defensive effort we have had, and I can't say enough about Aaron Franklin," head coach Bart Lundy said. "He was guarding the league's leading scorer and just did a phenomenal job. And our whole team, they absorbed the scout (scouting report), took away the things we needed to take away, and then limited them to one shot."
 
The MKE defense came up huge, limiting the visitors to a season-low point total and nearly 30 points below their scoring average of 84.9 coming into the night. Milwaukee held the 'Dons under 25 percent from the floor in the first half, with the 16 points scored approaching school-record territory for the opening 20 minutes.
 
"I was really worried about turning the ball over and we only had six in the first half," Lundy said. "We talked a lot about getting the ball on the rim, chase it, and not turn it over. Their ability to turn you over fuels their transition points and we were able to keep them out of transition for the most part, because of ball security, at least in the first half."
 
Three players came off the bench to finish in double-figures, led by 12 points from Amar Augillard. Chandler Jackson added 11 points and four rebounds, and Sekou Konneh finished with 10 points, just missing a double-double of his own with nine boards in his 18 minutes of playing time. Isaiah Dorceus was big with nine points and a game-high seven assists.
 
Mikale Stevenson paced the scoring for Purdue Fort Wayne with 18 points, and Hadnot finished with the 14 on 5-of-17 shooting overall.
 
The rebounding was just as impressive, with the +33 total margin (53-20) the second largest in program history, trailing only the +36 against Loyola Chicago back in 2009. That helped lead to a 24-0 advantage in second-chance points.
 
"I think anybody that watched that game saw the determination," Lundy said of the rebounding effort. "We've only been back from Christmas for three days. This group was really focused and was tough through these practices. They're just grinders. You're starting to see them not only play better defensively but actually get some chemistry offensively. It gives us a chance to be a really good team."
 
Milwaukee's pressure defense forced turnovers and created transition opportunities that kept the Mastodons on their heels early. The game was tied, 6-6, before 16 unanswered by the Panthers helped grow the advantage to 28-7.
 
The scoreboard read 44-16 at intermission, the fewest points for an opponent this season as well as the largest lead for MKE at the break against an NCAA Division I opponent this winter.
 
The team kept the pressure on in the second, building the advantage to as many as 35 on a pair of free throws from Jackson with 7:49 to play before settling in for the 22-point victory.
 
Milwaukee shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field overall and 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from three, finishing 80.0 percent (12-of-15) from the line. The Mastodons wrapped up the night at 36.2 percent (21-of-58) overall and made 21.9 (7-of-32) from deep.
 
Franklin's double-double was not only his first with the Panthers, but the first for the team this season. He finished 6-of-12 from the floor in setting a season-high in points as well an MKE-high in rebounds in his career.
 
"I wish we had a half hour to talk about his character," Lundy said of Franklin. "He's been through some injuries, there's been some things that have derailed him a bit. He's a true student-athlete, so to see him get a breakthrough, I couldn't be more proud of him and happy for him. Maybe more than anybody in our program. He's as loyal as they come … he would die for this program. He's played any role we have asked him to play: different positions; play a lot … play a little. So, to see him get that breakthrough, I am really happy for him."
 
Up next, the Panthers will be on the move, heading to Madison to renew their rivalry with Wisconsin Tuesday. Game time against the Badgers is set for 6 p.m.