UW-Milwaukee Panthers Fall to Valpo in Tough Contest

It was a hard-fought game, but the Valparaiso Crusaders shot a sizzling 65.2 percent (15-23) in the second half, while using an 11-0 run to beat the Milwaukee Panthers on Sunday afternoon at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Forward Matt Tiby and guard Steve McWhorter led the Panthers with 14 points apiece, while forward J.J. Panoske added 10 points. However, it wasn’t enough as Milwaukee’s five-game home winning streak came to an end with a 62-55 loss in front of over 3,300 energetic fans.

Despite the loss, this was a much better performance by the Panthers, than their blowout, 73-48, loss to the Crusaders in Valparaiso, Ind. three weeks ago.

“Defense means everything, especially in this league, and it comes down to stops,” Tiby said. “We didn’t get stops, and we got the result we did tonight.”

The Panthers came out of the gate strong, hitting 50 percent (10-20) of their shots, to lead by as many as eight points during the first 20 minutes of play. This is the Panthers’ first loss at home since Jan. 9 when the talented Green Bay Phoenix came to Milwaukee and won.

Despite holding a 28-23 lead at the half, Milwaukee couldn’t carry the momentum into the second half.

“I thought it was a tale of two halves,” Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. “The first half we shot the ball well. Second half, boy, they shot the lights out.”

The Horizon League leading Crusaders went on a 15-7 run, evening the score at 40 points apiece, with a little over 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Valparaiso then went on the 11-0 run to extend their lead to 51-43 with 4:52 left.  But, Milwaukee didn’t give up.  Instead, they fought and had energy until the final remaining seconds.

McWhorter, who has had an unbelievable senior season averaging a team-high 14 points and 4.3 assists, stepped up big late.  With less than two minutes remaining, the Panthers were desperate for a shot, and McWhorter drilled a three-pointer with 1:09 remaining to cut their deficit to only four points.

However, Valparaiso made just enough plays at the end to beat the Panthers on their home court.

“I’m proud of how they played,” Jeter said.  “We are playing the best team in the league that did some really good things down the stretch. We were not in the game the first time we played Valpo. We were in this game for most of the night.”

The effort was there for the Panthers, but in the end the lack of not having a go-to scorer hurt Milwaukee. When they desperately needed a basket, no one stepped up and carried the team offensively late in the game.

“We broke down on a few of those (plays) late,” Jeter said. “When you’re playing the best team in the league you’ve got to be a little more efficient, especially down the stretch.”

The Panthers finished the afternoon shooting 40.4 percent (19-47) from the floor and 36.4 percent (8-22) from three-point territory.  They also struggled to take care of the ball, committing an unimpressive 15 turnovers.

“Against a team like Valpo you can’t have those (turnovers),” Jeter said. “I’m disappointed we lost? Yes, but I’m not discouraged.  Especially to see this team battled.  We just didn’t make the right plays down the stretch.”

Milwaukee will return to action when they take the short trip down to Chicago to face the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames as they attempt to win their first true road game of the season on Thursday evening.  They then will return to the Panther Arena on Sunday afternoon for their final home game of the season.