Josh Dixon scored 24 points and Amar Aguillard had 21 of his 23 points in the second to beat South Dakota State by one
With the injuries piling up, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee needed this one.
Taking on South Dakota State at Fiserv Forum in the Milwaukee Hoops Showdown appetizer for the Wisconsin-Villanova nightcap, the Panthers came away with an 88-87 win despite missing two more key contributors and having another exit with cramps.
Five days after announcing leading scorer Seth Hubbard will undergo season-ending surgery, the Panthers took the floor with freshman guard Stevie Elam in crutches nursing a foot injury that will sideline him an estimated three weeks and freshman forward Sekou Konneh not dressed to play after being late for a shootaround. When Aaron Franklin, suddenly thrust into a critical role as a defender and interior scorer, hobbled to the bench late in the second half with cramps it was just the latest blow to a team whose second nature by this point in the year is adapting to injuries.
Amar Aguillard didn’t score until 1:25 left in the first half but made up for it
Not only did Amar Aguillard not crack the scoreboard until there were 80 seconds left in the first half, he only took two shots total before going into halftime, where the Panthers held a 39-38 win.
He made up for it over the final 20 minutes.
Without Hubbard, Milwaukee is going to need a different player to step up on the offensive end each night. Milwaukee needed a scoring punch on this one, it was Aguillard who came through.
Aguillard scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, hitting four triples to carry the offense as the game tightened up late.
BOX SCORE: UWM 88, South Dakota State 87
Beginning with a three with 9:03 to play that put the Panthers up six, Aguillard took 11 consecutive field goal attempts for his team. Some – namely a deep heat check in transition with a defender on him – had Lundy ready to rip his nonexistent hair out, but the Panthers ultimately lived with those if he was going to pour in 16 points during that spurt.
"We see it all the time in practice when he gets going," Lundy said. "I don't know if there's another player on our team that would take 11 straight. Doesn't surprise me."
It was a big response from Aguillard, the senior transfer who’s seen his minutes cut into in recent weeks.
Josh Dixon’s career night
It sure seems the Panthers may have something special on their hands in their freshman class.
Elam has shown poise beyond his years in the early stages and averages 8.4 points. He has been the primary true freshman to see the floor for Lundy, but don’t forget about Josh Dixon.
Making his first career start, Dixon dropped a game-high 24 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. Dixon ran the offense, navigating ball screens and finding areas to shoot at all three levels and iced the game with a rebound and two free throws to go up four with 5.4 seconds to play.
“He’s a scorer at his core,” Lundy said. “That’s kind of what his game is. Coming off the bench is difficult as a freshman who’s always just scored. To figure out, ‘Okay, what does the team need?’”
Dixon will continue to get plenty of run, perhaps even as a starter still, while the Panthers remain shorthanded.
“I stay pretty confident,” Dixon said. “I don’t try to let my confidence fluctuate. My confidence is always high no matter.”
Lundy likes grit, determination
This win, by all accounts, wasn’t Milwaukee’s most consistent effort. It saw an 11-point lead disintegrate over eight minutes in the first half and allowed too many open looks to Jaden Jackson (23 points) and Kalen Garry (18 points) early in the second half to push a lead to five.
There have been multiple games where those moments have spiraled on the Panthers, particularly on defense, but they didn’t let it get to them this time.
“I thought that we had some really good runs and we had some times where we got down and we could have let the lead expand for them and we showed some grit and determination,” Lundy said.
Lundy acknowledged the Panthers are far from a finished product. Just five days ago, they came up short at home in a winnable game against Indiana State because they couldn’t execute on offense late.
Against the Jackrabbits, though, they found a way. And that was all that mattered.
“This team is kind of a work in progress,” Lundy said. “That’s our theme right now, with all the injuries and guys now moving spots and we’ve had to tweak systems and everything.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UWM gets huge second half from Amar Aguillard to down SDSU
Category: General Sports
