The 3rd Man In

Panthers face Golden Eagles in home opener

It was an electrifying atmosphere when the Milwaukee Panthers opened their season against former head coach Bruce Pearl and his Auburn Tigers squad last Friday evening. It was a battle for both teams, who each held double digit leads throughout the course of the game, but in the end the Tigers were able to walk away victorious, knocking off the Panthers, 83-73.

Now the Panthers will look to rebound after this tough defeat, as they open their home schedule against Minnesota-Crookston on Monday night with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CST. Fans can watch the game on ESPN3 or listen to it on WISN-AM1130 if they are unable to make it down to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

The Golden Eagles are members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in NCAA Division II, and have started their season dropping their first two games after going 4-23 overall last season.

Through Minnesota-Crookston’s first two games they are averaging 45.0 points per game on 31 percent shooting from the field. Leading their offensive attack is junior guard Derrick Redd Jr., who leads the team, scoring 7.0 points per game.

Unless Austin Arians is able to return from injury against the Golden Eagles, the Panthers will look to counter with the starting lineup of Steve McWhorter, Akeem Springs, JeVon Lyle, Matt Tiby and J.J. Panoske.

Expect to see Justin Jordan and Brett Prahl play a big role for the Panthers against the Golden Eagles after having strong performances against Auburn.

Milwaukee will need to avoid long scoring droughts, while also making a higher percentage of their free-throw attempts. Winning this game against Minnesota-Crookston shouldn’t be an issue, but building off their loss against Auburn will be key as they continue to develop into a dangerous team.

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