Panthers Break Scoring Records in Resounding Win Over Dominican

The Milwaukee Panthers tied the single-game scoring record and set several program marks in a 125-70 win at the Klotsche Center over Dominican University on Nov. 25.

In the 55-point win, for the first time in program history, eight players reached double figures in scoring, with senior guard Amar Aguillard leading with a game-high 20 points. The Panthers scored a record 72 points in the second half and made a record 49 field goals for the game on 60.5 percent.

“Those are pretty crazy numbers when we only made six threes,” said Bart Lundy, Milwaukee head coach. “It’s nice to be back in the win column. This is a tired and beat up team. It’s been a really long road trip over the last couple weeks. Been a bunch of states, a bunch of planes and a bunch of really tough opponents, so it was good to see us get back on the right side of this.”

Milwaukee leaned heavily on its interior offense, scoring 82 points in the paint, and dominated in that area all night. Their efficiency and pace allowed them to pull away easily.

Sophomore forward Sekou Konneh led the frontcourt with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, nearly finishing with a double-double as he added nine rebounds in his 19 minutes of play. Konneh capped the game off in a flashy way, showcasing his athleticism with a 360 dunk.

Much of the pace and rhythm that allowed the Panthers to be so efficient came from the backcourt. Lundy praised the team’s guards for their rebounding and for pushing the tempo, in part due to junior guard Isaiah Dorceus returning from injury.

“We had some emphasis tonight on our guards rebounding, and their numbers are really good,” Lundy said. “It’s an area that really hurt us when we were on the road. Then having Isaiah kind of back healthy in the pace that he was able to push and you look at, he did have four turnovers, but the eight assists are huge for us.”

Despite the blowout, Lundy was quick to point out that there were still areas Milwaukee needed to improve upon. The Panthers had 14 steals and forced 17 turnovers, but Lundy stressed the importance of cleaning up the team’s on-ball defense, noting that the upcoming schedule will be a tougher test for the Milwaukee defense.

Konneh also said that this game gives a lot of momentum to the team moving forward. He had his own input on how to keep it up and how to handle the rest of the schedule.

“Just playing hard like days before and then leading up to the game and just doing what we practice,” Konneh said in a voice memo. “Take every position serious and play by play, everything matters.”

This game was the first home game for Milwaukee since November 8, and after a three-game road stint, Lundy emphasized how the home crowd impacted the team.

“Helping the team regain that energy was really important,” Lundy said. “Don’t tell anybody, but I love these games at the K. To have the excitement here and it’s loud and, you know, it’s Thanksgiving break. So to play it here and to have the home crowd be excited and we tied the school record for points. Hopefully that brings some folks back.”