Lucas regroups, delivers down the stretch for Panthers
A tough start couldn’t keep Te’Jon Lucas from finishing strong.
Overcoming his second tough shooting day in as many games, the senior guard took over against Western Michigan in the final 2 minutes 20 seconds to lead the visiting Panthers to a 71-63 victory Sunday afternoon.
Lucas had a hand in UWM’s final 11 points, scoring eight himself and assisting on the other crucial basket when he set up teammate Courtney Brown Jr. for a three-pointer.
Those plays were enough to keep the Broncos at bay in UWM’s second and final tuneup before opening Horizon League play next weekend at UW-Green Bay.
“That just speaks to his character and who he is,” coach Pat Baldwin said of Lucas, a preseason all-Horizon League second-team pick.
“He’s just so confident in himself and he knows that there’s other ways he can impact the game as well, even on a tough shooting night. And he knows that defenses are going to take their best shot against him, and that I trust him as well.
“Some way or another, he’s going to make a play and he certainly did that in this game – especially late.”
The Panthers (1-1) grabbed the lead in the closing minutes of the first half and were up by eight after C.J. Wilbourn’s three-point play made it 58-51 with 7 minutes 18 seconds remaining in the game.
Western Michigan chipped away from there, and after splitting a pair of free throws had made it a one-possession game at 60-57 at the 2:40 mark. Then came Lucas time.
He began by splitting a pair of free throws, and after a Broncos miss he converted a tough basket in the paint. He drove, out-fought a scrambling Western Michigan player for the ball after briefly losing control and hit a runner over a closing 6-foot-8 Titus Wright.
The Broncos missed a three on the other end, setting up a dish by Lucas off a drive that found Brown open on the right wing. He drained it, and just like that UWM’s lead had grown to 66-57 with 45 seconds left.
Western Michigan answered with a three of its own and then fouled Lucas, who hit a pair of free throws. Lucas then rebounded a missed three and split two free throws to make it 69-60.
One more Broncos three kept things interesting, but Lucas ended the mystery by hitting two more free throws with 10.3 seconds on the clock.
Lucas finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting. He missed all three of his three-point attempts but hit 6 of 8 from the free throw line after missing a crucial freebie in the closing seconds of UWM’s one-point loss at Kansas State on Friday night.
He also chipped in with four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes.
“It’s huge for us, to have a leader like him – and especially at the point-guard position,” Baldwin said.
DeAndre Gholston added 13 points, six rebounds and four steals and Wilbourn returned from COVID-19 protocol with an 11-point, six-rebound outing (four on the offensive end) as UWM dominated on the boards, 42-28.
Eleven players saw the floor in all for the Panthers, with 10 scoring.
UWM traveled from Manhattan, Kansas, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, late Friday night and received plenty of rest while Western Michigan hosted and lost to Detroit Mercy on Saturday afternoon.
“We had practically a full day of rest, and we let our guys sleep in,” Baldwin said. “It was good, because they gave everything they had in that K-State game. Coming into this game they were wellrested and mentally ready to go.”