The 3rd Man In

McWhorter’s big performance is the difference

After being blown out against Cleveland State, the Milwaukee Panthers responded in a positive way against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. It was not easy, but the Panthers (12-5, 2-1) were able to knock off the Golden Grizzlies 84-75.

Five players for Milwaukee scored in double figures, as they were able to win their first conference game on the road this season. Steve McWhorter lead the way with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Matt Tiby and Kyle Kelm each added 15, and Austin Arians and Cody Wichmann contributed with 13 points.

As a team they shot 50 percent (27-54) from the field, with 22 assists and 45 rebounds, but not everything was pretty in this game.

Milwaukee continued to struggle taking care of the ball as they turned it over 17 times, and only shot 63.6 percent (21-33) from the free throw line.

In the first half the Golden Grizzlies got off to a fast start scoring the first 11 points of the game. This did not stop the Panthers though, as they ended up going into the locker-room at halftime with a four-point lead.

The Panthers came out in the second half, and continued where they left off in the first 20 minutes of play. With 13:30 left in the game the Panthers extend their lead to double digits, winning 58-46.

With 8:47 left the Panthers lead continued to grow as they went up 69-49 on a Kelm free throw. Milwaukee has shown that they sometimes struggle to hold big leads, but tonight was a different story as the Panthers held on for a nice road win.

This was a must win game for the Panthers and they where able to get the job done, but there are still question marks surrounding this team. Turnovers have been the main problem for Milwaukee this season as they average almost 14 per game. This is inexcusable and fans have seen that it will hurt them against better completion. With that said it was still a great win after their loss against Cleveland State.

Up next the Panthers will return home on Sunday afternoon to face Horizon League and instate rival Green Bay.

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