Baldwin posts double-double in debut
Patrick Baldwin Jr.'s first college game was a rousing success.
The freshman forward posted a strong double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead UW-Milwaukee to a 75-60, season-opening victory at North Dakota on Tuesday night.
Baldwin hit 6 of 14 shots overall, including 2 of 7 from three-point range, and 7 of 8 free throws while playing 37 minutes, all game highs.
His 21 points were the most for a UWM freshman in an opener since Clay Tucker's 24 in 1999, and his double-double was the first by a UWM freshman since Tony Meier had 14 points and 12 rebounds in 2008.
“Honestly, there were no butterflies,” he said. “The coaching staff prepared me very well for this moment. My teammates trusted me this game, and it showed out there. Overall, it was exciting to get out there and to finally get a chance to play the game after missing my senior year (at Sussex Hamilton).
“Anytime you get on the court is pretty fun.”
DeAndre Gholston added 14 points and six rebounds, Donovan Newby 12 and Vin Baker Jr. 11 in a game the Panthers led for all but 33 seconds.
UWM held North Dakota to just 29% shooting and had a gigantic advantage at the free-throw line; the Panthers went 23 for 30 compared to 12 for 14 for North Dakota.
But the much smaller Fighting Hawks scrapped their way to a 46-38 advantage on the boards with 14 of those coming on the offensive end and leading to 19 second-chance points.
Baldwin scored 12 points in the second half, with eight coming in about a six-minute stretch as the Panthers slowly extended their lead.
He displayed the range of his offensive game with a pretty floater, a threepointer from the left wing and then a nice step-back fadeaway before sealing his personal run by splitting a pair of free throws after a North Dakota turnover.
Baldwin even chipped in with a big blocked shot in the paint.
“When you're a freshman and you come in, you don't know what to expect a lot of times. But I give him credit because he has a ton of confidence in himself and he knows his spots and where he's going to get some of those looks,” coach Pat Baldwin said of his son.
“The thing I'm happy about is he shot 7 threes, but he also mixed it up – he got to the basket, had some post-ups and things like that. I would be worried if he was shooting 14 threes.
“But for his first opportunity, first college game under the lights, with the pressure and road crowd, he did exceptionally well to finish with a doubledouble. I don't think you can ask for anything more than that.”
The efforts of Newby and Baker both came off the bench, with Newby logging a team-high four assists in his 23 minutes.
Baker provided the highlight of the game with a huge driving dunk from the right side with 1 minute 38 seconds remaining – an impressive play for the junior who missed all of last season due to knee surgery and also sat out UWM's exhibition game last weekend as a precaution.
Baldwin got himself into the books with a pair of free throws just 11 seconds into the game but found the going rougher as the half progressed. He played 17 minutes in all – two fewer than Gholston – but hit just 2 of 8 shots and 1 of 4 from beyond the arc in scoring nine points.
Still, he tied teammate Jordan Lathon with a team-high five rebounds and capped the first half with a pretty driving layup that sent the Panthers into the locker room with a 36-28 lead.
Gholston led all scorers with 10 points as the Panthers went 10 deep in the first half. Among the other newcomers to make good first impressions were Baker with six points in eight minutes and Moses Bol with four rebounds and a block in 10 minutes.
Senior forward Tafari Simms started the game but left only a minute into the game with an injury.