Inside Milwaukee’s Stunning Win over Robert Morris

UW-Milwaukee Men’s Basketball’s grit and team depth were on display on Dec. 6, as they defeated the Robert Morris Colonials at the buzzer with a final score of 74-72. 

Redshirt senior Aaron Franklin came off the bench and enjoyed his best game of the season, scoring 12 points and adding 6 rebounds. The Panthers were +10 when Franklin was on the floor. Even with his season-best points total, head coach Bart Lundy said it was Franklin’s energy on defense that affected the game.

“I thought his energy, his intensity and his communication really changed us defensively,” Lundy said during his postgame press conference. “I know he scored some baskets, but it was what he did defensively and on the glass that really changed the game.”

It was this kind of strength off the bench that showcased the Panthers’ depth. They outscored Robert Morris 28-11 in bench points. Along with Franklin’s 12, freshman Stevie Elam added 7, and junior Esyah Pippa-White had 5.

The Game Winner

A little life was sucked out of Panther Arena when Robert Morris’ sophomore DeSean Goode made a layup to tie the game at 72 with only nine seconds remaining in regulation.

Isaiah Dorceus brought the ball down the court quickly but settled for a long and awkward 3-point shot, which clanged off the heel of the rim.

As the ball was in the air, Milwaukee senior Seth Hubbard skied over Josh Hill and Darius Livingston for Robert Morris and tapped the ball back up. It hit high off the glass as the buzzer sounded and came back down into the bucket, winning the game for Milwaukee as time expired.

Hubbard ran and jumped on the scorer’s table, letting out some emotion before being embraced by teammates.

“So my mind was just, crash, because that’s what I’m taught to do in practice,” Hubbard said postgame. “I’m like, ‘Hey, I’m going to just tip it in.’ God kind of took it from there.”

Hubbard’s game-winning tip was part of his 21 total points, which led the Panthers. Many of his buckets came on difficult shots during key moments.

Second-Half Adjustments

When the Panthers went into the locker room at halftime down seven points, Lundy’s message was clear.

“The message at halftime was that we didn’t play very tough, especially in the last little bit,” said Lundy. “I was pretty upset with our group. We hadn’t been playing well, took some bad shots and gave in defensively. So there weren’t really any adjustments; it was just kind of me getting on them.”

The message seemed to work for Milwaukee, as they broke off their largest scoring run (11-0) around eight minutes into the second half. That cut the deficit to one, and Milwaukee took its first second-half lead minutes later. Shortly after that, the Panthers’ lead was up to seven.

“We really found the toughness that we’ve been looking for,” Lundy said. “I think we got eight straight stops, and we got to the free-throw line because we got the stops. We were getting stops on the defensive end, and that fueled our break.”

The fast break was another factor in the win. Milwaukee outscored Robert Morris 13-3 on fast-break points, which is exactly how they have liked to play under Lundy. One of the team’s mottos during his tenure has been “tilt the floor”, which the Panthers did more of in the second half.

Stars Take a Back Seat

Players such as Franklin were able to shine partially due to a lack of production from some of Milwaukee’s marquee players.

Senior Danilo Jovanovich, who is the second leading points scorer for the Panthers, had a relatively quiet night with only 6 points. Lundy tried to funnel the offense through Jovanovich early, but he was stifled by the Colonials’ defense. Jovanovich’s low-scoring night was not helped by a cramp that kept him out for several minutes of the second half.

Jovanovich also had the task of guarding RMU’s Goode for most of the game. Goode was the main offensive force for the Colonials, scoring 26 points.

“I think they adjusted a little bit to take D’Lo away,” Lundy said. “Those fadeaways that just didn’t go in normally go in for him. It’s a tough matchup for him, and I thought he had an excellent game.”

Graduate student Faizon Fields was saddled with foul trouble for most of the game, which led to extended minutes for other bigs Franklin and Tate MacKenzie. Fields was visibly frustrated with the officials over his foul calls and discussed it with them multiple times. Fields finished with 5 points, most of which came on a rare 3-pointer early in the game.

Redshirt senior Amar Augillard, who was a preseason pick for the first-team all-Horizon League, also had trouble staying on the court due to injury. It was unclear exactly what was bothering Augillard. He limped off the court with nine minutes remaining in the first half, but he played very little for the remainder of the game.

A Tough Schedule 

Milwaukee opened its Horizon League conference slate with a win, even after a tough stretch of non-conference road games. The Panthers went on the road to play strong teams such as Indiana, Texas Tech, Akron and Wichita State.

“I thought that we did our team a little bit of a disservice,” said Lundy when asked about the schedule. “We got banged up, we got sick. We played all over the country in two weeks.”

Through the adversity, Lundy did acknowledge that playing difficult opponents was a benefit to them when coming into conference play against opponents like Robert Morris.

 “We figured out that if we don’t guard, then we’re not very good. Tonight, that helped us get to a point where we can hold a good Robert Morris team to 29% in the second half,” Lundy said. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Milwaukee continues its conference season on Dec. 21, as they visit Cleveland State.