The 3rd Man In

Panthers beat UIC, face Valpo next

It was not Milwaukee’s best performance, but the Panthers (13-6, 3-2) where able to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit to knock off UIC by a score of 67-63. Jordan Aaron led the way with 18 points, while three others scored in double digits.

Matt Tiby had 13 points, while Cody Wichmann added 11 of the bench and Steve McWhorter had 10 points. Malcolm Moore also had a big night scoring eight points and grabbing nine boards.

Milwaukee was down 36-23 at halftime, but hot shooting from all over the floor in the second half was the difference. The Panthers shot 42.9 percent including 37.5 percent from three-point territory over the course of the game, but in the second half they shot an impressive 54.4 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range.

A win is a win, and while it was not Milwaukee’s best showing they where able to win their first game on their three game road trip.

Up next the Panthers will travel to Valparaiso on Saturday to face the Crusaders (10-9, 2-2) at one o’clock in the afternoon. This game will be featured on Time Warner Cable and as usual on WISN-AM 1130.

Last season the Panthers did not have any success against the Crusaders losing both games by more than 20 points each time.

Valparaiso recorded their second conference win on Wednesday night when they beat Detroit, and also picked up a win against UIC earlier in the conference season.

This game will not be easy, as Valpo is averaging nearly 78 points per game while shooting over 48 percent from the field. Their top offensive player is senior guard LaVonte Dority who is averaging 15.4 points per game.

This contest could go either way, but whichever team is able to avoid long offensive droughts while playing smart fundamental basketball will walk away with the victory.

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