UW-Milwaukee is staying home as it falls to Oakland in a Horizon League quarterfinal game
What a storyline it could have been.
Taking the court on campus in front of a packed house at the Klotsche Center on Thursday night, the UW-Milwaukee Panthers playing their best game of the season and sailing through the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals to punch their ticket to Indianapolis, where momentum would carry them to that elusive title.
Instead, a terrible night from the free-throw line, rare off-game on the glass and an inability to contain the duo of Allen David Mukeba and Tuburu Naivalurua in the paint conspired to ruin the third-seeded Panthers' happy ending as they were dumped by the sixth-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 72-64.
"They were together to the end. It's just disappointing that they won't get to advance," said coach Bart Lundy, whose team lost to Oakland in the conference finals last year. In that game, the Panthers were overtaken in the game's final 2 minutes 33 seconds.
In this one they played from behind for all but the first 1:26, with the Golden Grizzlies repelling several late charges just two days after winning by 24 at 11th-seeded UW-Green Bay in a first-round matchup.
BOX SCORE: Oakland 72, UWM 64
"Because we talked about it. I thought, 'If we go to Indy, we'll win.' I told them that," Lundy continued. "I told them that two days ago – 'You guys go to Indy, you're going to win. But you've got to get to Indy to win.'
"And Oakland outplayed us tonight. Nothing for it at the end of the day."
Making the loss even tougher to swallow was the fact UWM (21-11) shot the same 51.9% from the floor (28 for 54) as Oakland (16-17 record) and got clutch performances from Themus Fulks (20 points, six assists) and Jamichael Stillwell (16 points, eight rebounds six assists).
In the end, it just wasn't enough as a season-long bugaboo reared its ugly head at the worst possible time in the form of 3-for-12 free-throw shooting (27.8%).
Mukeba and Naivalurua, meanwhile, combined for 41 points on 16-for 23 shooting from the floor and 9-for-9 shooting from the free-throw line, and the Panthers lost the battle on the glass for just the sixth time all year (1-5 in such games).
"This is a really, really, really outstanding win for us," said Oakland coach Greg Kampe. "We beat a really, really, really good basketball team that's coached by a really, really, really good coach. That's really how I feel. I mean, it's not bullcrap or anything.
"It's just how I feel."
A quick surge to open the game by UWM quickly fell by the wayside as Mukeba and Naivalurua established themselves inside. By halftime they'd hit a combined 10 of 13 shots and scored 20 points as Oakland took a 39-31 halftime lead.
That bulge grew to 54-41 with the Golden Grizzlies threatening a blowout before Panthers reserve John Lovelace Jr. hit 3 three-pointers in a span of 2:34 to tilt the momentum toward UWM and get the crowd of 2,151 back into the game.
"Johnny Lovelace gave us just an enormous, enormous boost," Lundy said of the junior wing from Brown Deer, who finished with a season-high-tying 11 points. "The threes and his intensity in front of the press. The future's bright for Johnny. He really carried us there for a while."
The Panthers continued their surge, and after a jump hook by Stillwell had pulled to within 62-60 with 5:22 left with their faithful reaching a fever pitch.
Less than a minute later, Jaylen Jones stopped it all by burying a three-pointer from the left wing after Oakland broke UWM's press. The two teams exchanged baskets again and AJ McKee's putback with 1:23 remaining again made it a one-possession game, this time at 67-64.
But again Jones had an answer, this time a three from the right wing that he swished to make the deficit six.
McKee missed a three on the other end with UWM forcing a turnover and Kentrell Pullian getting fouled. But the 80.6% free-throw shooter coming in missed both with just 23.2 seconds left on the clock, Naivalurua hit a pair on the other end as Oakland punched its ticket to Indianapolis.
"We don't win tonight without him," said Kampe of Jones, who came in shooting 25% from beyond the arc on the season with just 12 total makes. "I mean, I'm not expecting to make those threes, all right? I've got to give him something on that. That's not who he is.
"But when you're playing with great confidence, you can do a lot of things."
While it ultimately didn't set the stage for a victory, it probably hasn't been since the program's glory days under Bruce Pearl that a crowd was as fired up as it was in the second half.
It's what Lundy was hoping would occur when he made the decision to play on campus rather than at the more cavernous UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
"I know not everybody was was happy about the decision to play at the 'K,' but the atmosphere was exactly what I had hoped for," said Lundy. "The fans were exactly as I hoped they would be. I'm sorry, and I know that our players are sorry that their performance wasn't what we wanted it to be."
If ever a team was prepared for a hostile crowd, though, it was Oakland, which played at then-No. 1 Kansas, No. 20 Michigan State and No. 23 Arkansas in the non-conference portion of its schedule.
"That's why we do that every year," said Kampe. "We have a bad record every year in the non-league because of it. I don't care anything about the number of wins or anything. I care about my kids and trying to win championships, and that's the best way to win them.
"There was not even a thought in my mind that this would affect us. In fact, we like it. I think we thrive in it."
Now, as Oakland gets ready to face top-seeded Robert Morris this coming Monday, Lundy has some decisions to make regarding his own program.
"We haven't even discussed it," he said when asked if the Panthers would potentially play in a postseason tournament or elect to call it quits as they did after losing to Oakland in 2024.
"I think we've got two invites already, three invites, and one of those tournaments just got canceled today. So, I don't know. In the age of the portal and where our program is, I can ask our guys. But there's a couple things. Do we want that to be the standard? I want to go the NCAA Tournament. Nothing against those tournaments.
"And then, the portal will open, and you know there will be guys here, and there will be guys other places, and when you play in those (tournaments), you're way behind, and it makes it hard. So, I don't know. It's a discussion we can have. And honestly, I've been avoiding those calls and avoiding those guys.
"I want to go the NCAA Tournament."
At the end of his news conference, Lundy was asked who his pick was to ultimately win the Horizon League Tournament.
"I might be biased, because maybe Oakland has our number," he said. "But I've thought all year they were the best team in the league."