The UWM Panthers are off to their best home start since the 2005-06 season

UW-Milwaukee guard Erik Pratt (8) shoots for a three-pointer against Akron in the MKE tip-off on Sunday, December 15, 2024, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The UW-Milwaukee Panthers are heading into the holidays feeling pretty good.

They improved to 6-0 at home for the first time since the 2005-06 season thanks to a 92-57 win over Division III North Central on Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

This year, the Panthers started 10-0 and went on to a 13-2 home campaign.

“We’re happy with the semester,” said head coach Bart Lundy, whose team countered 5-for-31 shooting from three-point range with a 25-for-36 mark at the free throw line and 45 rebounds. The Panthers also turned the ball over a season-low six times, forcing the Cardinals to score 23.

“We wanted to put a stop to that and send (the players) home for Christmas. Hopefully they come back with as good or better a team attitude and we can have a go in the second semester.”

BOX score:UWM 92, North Central 57

UWM (9-4, 2-0 Horizon League) also improved its record to 11-1 under Lundy at the Klotsche Center on campus, with its next game being played there as well. IU-Indianapolis comes to town on December 29th when the Panthers return to the Horizon League for the remainder of the season.

“The K is a special place,” Lundy said. “You can look out into the crowd and see our fan support in the community is growing. I don’t track the numbers, but you can see it’s growing. We obviously need more student support and hopefully we can start to get that.” .

“I think we have a pretty good team. It’s fun to watch them. They play really hard. So we need students to get involved. And I think once they come out a few times, they’ll be hooked.

Jamichael Stillwell doubles again

As of Sunday, 6-foot-10 junior forward Jamichael Stillwell was the No. 1 rebounder in all of Division I-352 with 12.1 per game.

For a player who essentially came from nowhere (Butler Community College) and plays for a mid-tier program, that’s a large act.

“This is a big deal for him, for his profile and then for our program,” Lundy said. “Because it brings attention to the program and people want to come out and see the No. 1 rebounder in the country. And rebounding is one of those things where if we want to be a program that’s built on toughness, there’s no better way to do it. “That the guy who’s in the toughest category is No. 1 in the country?”

Against a smaller, less athletic team like North Central, Stillwell expected to have a big day Sunday.

Instead, he settled for a quiet performance of 12 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes of play. Stillwell injured himself by picking up two quick fouls in the first half and then suffered a technical error with 4 minutes, 45 seconds left that sent him to the bench at halftime.

Then a touch foul on the sideline sent him to the bench for a break at the start of the second period. Stillwell ended the day with a putback with 6:34 remaining, giving him his fourth straight double-double – tying BJ Freeman for the program record – and eighth of the season.

“It’s actually a growth process for him, technically,” Lundy said. Stillwell’s numbers dipped slightly to 13.7 points and 11.9 rebounds.

“It’s not good, but I’d rather do it now because in Jamichael’s past he was a guy who always got going. He runs hot, and that’s partly what makes him good. On the bench we talked about, ‘Hey, you’ve got to channel that.’ I would say he probably knew this was a game he could get into (technically).

“That doesn’t make it better, but again it’s growth for him.”

Erik Pratt is getting used to it again

After missing eight games for personal reasons, senior guard Erik Pratt scored a game-high and season-high 20 points in 20 minutes by knocking down 5 of 9 shots (3 of 7 three-pointers) and 7 of 8 free throws.

The 6-5 Pratt gives UWM a much-needed, consistent scorer from long range, and his length, athleticism and experience also make him a player whose role should only increase with time.

“He’s so different than the other guards because he really uses his jump shot more,” Lundy said. “We have so many downhill guys who can shoot, but he opens up the field for them. The thing with Eric is that he was in a situation where he could have taken a few different paths, and it was really nice to see him get back on the path where he achieves all of his goals can.

“He is an excellent player and a player who should play long after Milwaukee. It’s difficult to get him off the bench when you’ve been in the starting line-up in many places for a long time. But he’s good at it, and he wants to help the team.

Faizon Fields is about to return

Senior forward Faizon Fields — the Panthers’ best big man a year ago — has missed the last seven games after undergoing surgery to repair a broken finger, but is close to a return that will make UWM whole, according to Lundy will, as it has been since the start of the season.

“He runs every day. He keeps his wind,” Lundy said. “I think our target is January 8th when they fully release it. He’s staying here over the Christmas holidays. He is so dedicated to maintaining his conditioning and staying in shape. So I think we’ve done it.” a really good Faizon is coming back.

“It will take him a while. But that also helped (Darius) Duffy get out of the slump he was in because he wasn’t playing as many minutes. So having a good Duffy and a healthy Faizon completely changes our team.”

Junior winger Aaron Franklin was sidelined Sunday because of ongoing foot problems, Lundy said.

“Two games ago he couldn’t finish the game because it was swollen,” Lundy said. “It’s kind of a chronic deal. So we could let it rest until after Christmas. He will be back with us on the 26th when we come back for training.”

The UWM Panthers are off to their best home start since the 2005-06 season

ByAmelia Journalton

By Amelia Journalton

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