Dramatic buzzer-beater lifts UWM to critical Horizon League win over Northern Kentucky

This may not come as much of a surprise: The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee found itself locked in another nail-biter Saturday evening at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. 

And when all seemed to be falling apart in a chaotic final minute, Kentrell Pullian’s hustle and Angelo Stuart’s calm patience saved the day for the Panthers.

Following a pair of fantastic defensive plays by Pullian moments prior, Stuart hit a game-winning three from the wing with 1.4 seconds to play to give the Panthers a 73-72 win over Northern Kentucky. 

After the Panthers inbounded in the frontcourt with nine seconds left and trailing by two, Northern Kentucky denied the ball from going to the top scoring options. Instead, forward Langston Wilson caught the ball near the boundary and started to work toward the key but was met with a firm double team. 

With time running down, he fired off a pass to an open Stuart, whose 25-footer was nothing but net. 

The Norse got off a look from halfcourt at the buzzer that would have won the game but the shot clanged off the front of the rim.

It was a wild ending that was befitting of the game until that point.

The second half saw eight lead changes and no lead ever larger than five points. Milwaukee never led by more than three.

With the ball and trailing by two points with under 30 seconds to play, Erik Pratt missed a three to take the lead and then BJ Freeman turned the ball over following an offensive rebound. 

But Stuart was not the lone hero on the evening. 

BOX SCORE: UWM 73, Northern Kentucky 72

Pullian made a pair of remarkable defensive plays in the ensuing seconds, swiping the ball out of bounds from behind on a breakaway layup attempt and then blocking a shot at the rim with 15 seconds to play. 

Pullian was credited with two blocks on the sequence, which ended in a Panthers fastbreak and the ball landing out of bounds off the Norse in the corner of the frontcourt.

Stuart, who had just three points to that moment in the game, was certainly not the primary option coming out of a timeout for Milwaukee, but he was on the floor for a reason. The capable shooter didn’t hesitate after receiving the pass from Wilson and buried his second three of the night to keep the Panthers’ hopes of a bye in the Horizon League Tournament alive.

The win vaulted Milwaukee into a three-way tie for fifth place alongside the Norse and Cleveland State. The top five seeds get a first-round bye, while the top four get a bye and host their first game. 

Freeman scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds and five assists to lead the Panthers. Pratt finished with 13 points.

The Norse took a 36-35 lead into the locker room after a back-and-forth first half in which the Panthers let it fly from deep, going 8 for 22 from three, but turned the ball over nine times.

Pullian had nine points on 3 for 5 shooting – all from distance – to lead Milwaukee while Freeman had eight points, six rebounds and three assists in his return to the lineup from an illness. 

In all, there were 12 lead changes in the first 20 minutes. 

The Panthers rarely and briefly led in the first stretch of the second half, holding a one-point advantage three times, but also never trailed by more than five through the under-8 minute media timeout. 

Then Freeman took over, scoring on a three-point play to tie the score at 60-60, then canning a three from the wing to put Milwaukee up by three, its largest lead of the night. 

The Norse, however, responded with an 8-2 run of their own, capped by a corner three by Michael Bradley to put them back in front, 68-65, with under four minutes to play.  

The Panthers trailed by five with 2:25 to play but Freeman and Pratt scored in the lane on their next two possessions to cut the deficit to one. 

After going ahead by five, Northern Kentucky missed the front end of the single bonus, turned the ball over, split a pair of free throws, turned it over again and then was blocked twice by Pullian.