Great timing: Aaron Franklin's lone basket hands UWM last-second victory over Siena

Aaron Franklin made just one shot on Tuesday night -- but it was a huge one.

His offensive rebound and putback with 0.2 seconds remaining proved to be the difference for the UW-Milwaukee Panthers, as they squeaked past Siena, 61-59, in their second and final game in the Sunshine Slam at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The victory was the first for UWM in four tries against Division I opponents and came in lieu of another ice-cold shooting performance, this one a season-worst 35.6% (21 for 59).

BJ Freeman scored 18 points to pace the Panthers (3-3), Markeith Browning II added 13 and Faizon Fields nine points and a team-high seven rebounds in a game that saw 26 lead changes.

"I think with a lot of the frustration of the long road trips, those guys really wanted to win," coach Bart Lundy said. "Came down to the end tonight, and I'm really happy for our group. I told them, 'It wasn't pretty and we haven't been pretty and haven't shot it well, but you found a way to win.

"We've got to celebrate, build on it, keep the momentum moving and kind of find ourselves as a team."

BOX SCORE:UW-Milwaukee 61, Siena 59

Zach Howell's lone make of the night – a three-pointer off a Freeman assist with 3 minutes 20 seconds remaining – gave the Panthers a 56-53 lead, and UWM never trailed again.

But Siena (1-4) didn't go down without a fight, and a three-point play by Michael Evbagharu with 1:06 left made it a 59-59 game.

A mad scramble in the closing seconds ultimately decided matters, with Freeman, Elijah Jamison and Browning each missing shots in succession only to have teammates hustle to scramble down the boards and give the Panthers more life.

The final miss, on a drive by Browning, was corralled under the basket by the 6-foot-5 Franklin, who muscled his way past 6-10 Killian Gribben and put the ball back for the victory with only 0.2 seconds on the clock.

"We're only scratching the surface on what he can give us," Lundy said of Franklin, a junior-college transfer who entered averaging 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13 minutes per game thus far.

"It's been kind of a moving card deck with our lineup, and hopefully we can smooth this out and get some guys some confidence with continuity. The trips and the high-majors, they're rough, and sometimes you don't get an accurate read on some guys when you play those games.

"Hopefully, we're starting to get a bead on it and Aaron's one of those guys that I think will rise through the ranks."

Browning, who entered the game averaging just four points with a high of 11, did a nice job alleviating some of the pressure on Freeman on the offensive end while at the same time delivering his usual hard-nosed defense and hustle on the glass.

He came up limping after that final sequence after having his ankle stepped on but was no worse for wear afterward.

"It's huge," said Lundy of Browning's offensive contributions. He hit 5 of 9 shots overall and 3 of 6 three-pointers while chipping in four rebounds and a couple assists in 34 minutes.

"He can get paint touches. He's really been making good decisions with the ball. He hasn't been the healthiest, so as his health gets better we become a much more dynamic, better team. He really terrorizes the ball (defensively).

"I think the biggest stat to me is he was plus-seven, which means we were plus-seven as a team when he was in the game. He's had a great attitude as well."

Siena beat UWM badly on the boards, 46-31, with 18 of those coming on the offensive end.

But the Panthers also deserve some credit for their continuing ball security -- they only committed nine turnovers -- despite the fact Jamison and Erik Pratt are being asked to play out of position as point guards.

UWM will look to make it two straight victories for the first time this season as it hosts Southern Mississippi at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Klotsche Center.