Panthers’ senior night ends on high note
Call it perfect timing or a flair for the dramatic.
Actually, call it both. Celebrating senior day in the absolute best possible way, Te'Jon Lucas hit a tough fallaway jumper with 2.1 seconds remaining in double overtime to lift UWMilwaukee to a hard-fought 89-87 victory over Oakland at the Klotsche Center on Saturday night.
It was the final big play in a back-andforth affair that contained plenty, and one that allowed the previously reeling Panthers to snap their five-game losing streak and enjoy a rare feel-good moment.
"It was a fairytale ending on senior night for him," said UWM coach Pat Baldwin of the Milwaukee Washington product, who also beat Illinois-Chicago with a last-second mad dash last season.
"It was huge. For a Milwaukee kid to step up big and make the play that we absolutely needed to end our streak and propel us into our tournament, it was huge. And not only for him, but for all of our seniors."
Lucas, who finished with 21 points and 13 assists and no turnovers while playing 49 of a possible 50 minutes, actually hadn't scored since late in regulation leading up to his dramatic shot.
Josh Thomas scored on a layup with 1 minute remaining to tie it at 87-87, and the teams exchanged misses before Tafari Simms came up with the biggest loose ball of the game after Oakland tried rushing it up the floor.
Simms got the ball to Lucas with 27 seconds remaining, and he pounded the dribble before making his move with about 7 seconds left.
A left-hander, Lucas dribbled into the lane with his right quickly enough to get Oakland's Jalen Moore on his heels, then spun around to his strong side and released a fallaway 16-footer that found nothing but the bottom of the net.
Oakland's final shot was of the prayer variety, and after the buzzer sounded the celebration was on.
"I thought he was going to kick it out because there was someone open on the wing," Baldwin said. "But he went to his patented fadeaway shot and made it. When it hit the bottom of the net I was really happy."
Lucas's 13 assists were tied for thirdmost in a game in program history. He had a rough season shooting the basketball, knocking down just 38% of his attempts, but Lucas still finished at 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game -- solid numbers by any measure.
UWM (8-11, 7-10 Horizon League) was in position to close it out without extra periods with a 74-72 lead and having forced a three-point miss by Oakland with the clock winding down.
But the Golden Grizzlies tracked down the offensive board and Micah Parrish got off a shot just before time expired that he missed. DeAndre Gholston was whistled for a foul, and after a lengthy review by the officials, Parrish swished both free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining.
Oakland used an 8-2 run to open overtime and grab an 82-76 lead, but UWM scored the final six points with Amir Allen's putback of a Lucas miss with 3.2 seconds left tying it up.
The Panthers then caught a major break when the Golden Grizzlies botched a wide-open alley-oop layup off the ensuing inbounds play, and the game went to a second overtime and set up Lucas's big shot.
Lucas wasn't the only senior to come up big.
Thomas continued his strong late-season play with 22 points -- his third straight outing of 20 or more points -while Allen did yeoman's work inside with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
"Our seniors really stepped up and made big plays," Baldwin said. "They did a great job."
Sophomore Courtney Brown Jr. added 15 points.