Panthers’ defense disappears once again
Defense – or lack thereof – was at the heart of the weekend sweep the UWMilwaukee Panthers suffered at the hands of the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.
UWM didn't force a miss from the field in the second half until nearly 8 minutes had elapsed Saturday night, and by then the damage had already been done.
PFW shot 62.8% for the game and an incredible 70.6% from three-point range as the Panthers fell, 81-74, at the Klotsche Center.
Tafari Simms scored a game-high 24 points, Te'Jon Lucas added 16 and DeAndre Gholston 14 as UWM (5-4, 4-3 Horizon League) shot 45% and forced another 23 turnovers leading to 30 points. But the rest of the defensive effort was severely lacking, and the Panthers have dropped two straight for the first time this season.
UWM trailed by nine at intermission but forced PFW (6-5, 5-5) into four turnovers in the first 1 minute 10 seconds of the second half to carve into the deficit.
A Lucas three and Gholston layup pulled the Panthers to within 38-34 with 18:42 remaining.
But the Mastodons answered with an incredible flurry.
They hit shots on six consecutive possessions – including 5 threes – while the Panthers struggled to keep up.
After Bobby Planutis hit his second three in the spurt, PFW's lead had grown to 55-41.
Simms stemmed the tide a bit with consecutive threes of his own. But after a pair of free throws, Jarred Godfrey hit yet another from long distance, leaving PFW at 7 for 7 from the floor and 6 for 6 from beyond the arc in the half.
It wasn't until Lucas blocked Dylan Carl's shot with 12:28 left that the Mastodons were credited with a miss.
PFW enjoyed what looked to be a comfortable 62-47 advantage at that point.
Keyed by some offense off the bench from Simms – and, finally, a string of defensive stops – UWM used a flurry of its own to pull within 68-63.
The Panthers had three opportunities to make it a one-possession game after that as well, but missed a pair of shots and turned the ball over to let the Mastodons off the hook.
Planutis hit PFW's 12th three at that point, and the Mastodons were able to keep UWM at arm's length the rest of the way.
Godfrey scored 18 points to lead four PFW players in double figures. The Mastodons knocked down 12 of 17 threepointers, making up for a 15-for-25 night from the free throw line.
The first half was almost a carbon copy of Friday's 81-72 loss, in which UWM forced a season-high 21 turnovers yet still allowed PFW to shoot 53.4%.
The Mastodons gave the ball away 13 more times to start,with the Panthers converting them into 14 points. But by intermission PFW had connected on 14 of 21 shots (66.7%) – including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc – as UWM fell behind, 38-29.
The Panthers shot 44% but hit on only 2 of 11 three-pointers (18.2%) and had nine turnovers themselves, leading to 11 points for the Mastodons.