Panthers’ defense folds, leading to third straight loss
UW-Milwaukee’s 81-77 loss to Illinois-Chicago on Thursday night was a tale of two halves.
After smothering the Flames for the opening 20 minutes the Panthers completely folded defensively in the final 20, allowing UIC to shoot 66.7% and change the tenor of the teams’ Horizon League matchup at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The loss was the third straight for UWM (5-12, 3-5), which got 27 points from DeAndre Gholston and hit 24 of 30 free throws but continued a seasonlong issue by committing 17 turnovers that led to 20 points for UIC (6-8, 2-3).
Kevin Johnson poured in a gamehigh 28 points to lead three Flames in double figures.
The Panthers put together a solid first half in taking a 34-27 lead at intermission against the Flames in the teams’ first meeting since the 2019-’20 season.
But they were unable to carry that momentum out of the locker room with them as the Flames used a 15-2 run buoyed by 3 three-pointers and three UWM turnovers to take back the advantage at 42-36.
UWM didn’t hit its first shot from the field until Tafari Simms converted a three-point play with 15 minutes 39 seconds remaining, which made it a 42-39 game.
But UIC kept bombing away from long range and after threes on consecutive possessions by Johnson the Flames had hit one more shot from beyond the arc (five) in the first 51⁄2 minutes than they had in the opening 20 minutes (four).
The Panthers remained aggressive offensively and got to the free-throw line 10 times while getting as close as 5655 on a Gholston layup with 9:58 left.
The defense was another matter entirely as UIC continued to knock down shots.
Another three by Johnson and four straight mid-range jumpers stretched the Panthers’ deficit to 69-56, with the Flames shooting a sizzling 77.3% to that point in the second half (17 for 22).
The final straw came with just under 4 minutes left, as UIC missed a three as the shot clock expired only to track down the long rebound and have Johnson drain his sixth three of the game.
UWM made it a one-possession game at 80-77 with 4.5 seconds left, but Jalen Warren split a pair of free throws to seal it.
UIC hit 20 of 30 shots and 7 of 13 threes (53.8%) in the second half.
Playing on its home court for the first time since Dec. 23, UWM was without both Patrick Baldwin Jr. (calf) and Josh Thomas – the team’s leading scorer the previous two games – yet still managed to take a 34-27 halftime lead.
UWM continued to be too loose with the basketball, but overall it was a much better half of basketball than it had managed to play in either of its past two games. But it didn’t last.