UWM 81, UC Davis 79: Faizon Field's game-winning free throws help Panthers snap losing streak

One year ago, a showdown between UW-Milwaukee and UC Davis ended on a deep heave from three at the buzzer that came up nothing but net for Panthers guard Justin Thomas. 

Davis had a chance to get its revenge in the exact same way Saturday night in Davis, California,, but the Aggies’ prayer went unanswered. 

After Milwaukee forward Faizon Fields hit a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining, Davis guard Ty Johnson’s shot from just beyond halfcourt ricocheted off the backboard, then the rim before bouncing to the floor as time expired to give the Panthers an 81-79 win as well as a sense of relief. 

The Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak, their longest since the 2021-22 season, with the win and picked up just their second win over a Division-I opponent. 

It was the exact type of performance they needed to right the ship, and it came without top scorer BJ Freeman, who missed his third straight game with an injury. 

BOX SCORE:UW-Milwaukee 81, UC Davis 79

Freeman's back injury will be reevaluated by a doctor this coming week, Panthers head coach Bart Lundy said. It isn't expected to be a long-term absence for Freeman, but the injury could keep him out a couple more weeks.

"It’s been a little bit of everything," Lundy said. "It's been health, chemistry, attitude, effort. There have been a lot of things we’ve had to deal with and I think that they started to grow up a little bit and play together and play the right way. We’re plenty talented. We just have to do things the right way. I feel like we’re starting to trend that way."

Erik Pratt scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Panthers and hit three free throws to take the lead with 2:17 to play. 

The Aggies battled back to tie the game, though, and had a shot to take the lead in the final minute but excellent defense forced a missed shot by Johnson. As Fields came down with the rebound, Johnson ran into him, sending the 78% free-throw shooter to the line for two shots with 2.9 seconds to go. 

Fields calmly sank the first, then banked in the second to push the lead to 81-79.

Fields played only three minutes but Lundy substituted him in following a timeout with 30 seconds left in case the Aggies were going to foul Darius Duffy, a 25% shooter from the stripe.

Johnson, who poured in 28 points to share the game-high with teammate Elijah Pepper for Davis, had retribution on his mind coming out of a timeout but missed wide right at the buzzer.

The Panthers, no stranger to slow starts this year, overcame a 12-point deficit seven minutes to take a four-point lead into halftime. 

That hot shooting carried over into the second half for Miwlaukee, which finished a season-high 58.5% from the field. The Panthers shot 73.5% on two-point attempts, as well. 

"They really played together," Lundy said. "We had some poise. We turned it over early and then again late against their pressure but there were long stretches of playing clean, especially first half after the rough start. There were more paint touches and more baskets off those than we had all year."

Aaron Franklin scored 15 points, Markeith Browning added 10 and Angelo Stuart hit a trio of threes, including one to push the lead to four with 1:47 to play, for nine points.

Pratt, who scored all of his then-career high 15 points in the second half earlier in the week against St. Thomas, had 12 over the final 20 minutes Saturday while only missing one shot.

The Panthers as a whole shot 62.5% from the field in the second half.