The UW-Milwaukee Panthers entered their first 2023-24 victory into the books on Monday night, a 91-73 thumping of Division III opponent UW-Stout at the Klotsche Center.

There was plenty to like, led by an 18-point outing from senior Angelo Stuart, a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double from 6-foot junior Kentrell Pullian and 14 players seeing the floor.

But then there were the negatives like spotty defense, 53.3% free-throw shooting (16 for 30) and the fact the Panthers were playing without star junior BJ Freeman, who was suspended for a violation of team rules.

“We had some really good individual efforts, especially in the second half,” coach Bart Lundy said. “But to think that that’s the type of performance that’s going to win us many games is not accurate. We have to play a lot less disjointed and a lot harder defensively.

“So, I didn’t want them to leave that locker room feeling like we had accomplished anything. But give Stout credit — they handled all kinds of pressure and made some shots that I wasn’t sure they could make.”

Newcomer Langston Wilson added 10 points as did holdover Zach Howell while 12 players in all found their way into the scoring column for UWM, which out-rebounded Stout by a total of 53-32 with 23 of those boards coming on the offense end.

The Panthers held a slim 40-35 halftime lead before their superior manpower took over in the second half, allowing Lundy to begin trying different player combinations.

Pullian, Howell and Elijah Jamison formed the starting backcourt while Bradley Tech alum and Old Dominion transfer Faizon Fields got the nod up front.

Junior Markeith Browning II also received special mention for his efforts from Lundy afterward despite finishing just 1 for 8 from the floor.

“Markeith made just one shot, but he was plus-24,” Lundy said. “He really played off two feet and made good decisions when we needed it.”

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

BOX SCORE: UWM 91, UW-Stout 73

Angelo Stuart is off to a good start

The well-traveled senior guard was affected by ankle surgery last season, severely minimizing the impact he was expected to have on the Panthers as a perimeter threat.

But he’s healthy once again and looked great coming off the bench. In 20 minutes he hit 7 of 11 shots, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, for a UWM team that Lundy expects to be much more potent and accurate shooting the basketball than it was a year ago.

“He’s moving so much better. He’s fast and he wasn’t fast last year,” said Lundy of Stuart, who averaged just 4.2 points in his first season at UWM. “So, I expect big things from him.”

Pullian hit 2 of 8 threes, Erik Pratt 2 of 5 and Howell 2 of 3 as the Panthers finished just 11 for 35 overall from three-point range (31.4%) against a Stout team that mostly packed the paint.

“We’ve had two scrimmages and we’ve shot lights out,” said Lundy. “I look at those numbers and I know that’s not who we are as a shooting team. Really, you go down the lineup, and almost everybody can shoot it.”

The Panthers have some more active, big bodies

Ahmad Rand and Moses Bol have moved on, but now on hand are the 6-foot-10 Fields, 6-9 Langston Wilson and 6-8 Darius Duffy, all of whom had their moments in this one.

In 19 minutes, Fields had nine points and eight rebounds while demonstrating an ability to be a force scoring with his back to the basket.

“Really skilled,” Lundy said. “He had four offensive rebounds by halftime but had taken one shot. He’s really good down there, and we need him to score.”

Wilson, a transfer from Washington, added 10 points and four rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

But maybe the biggest surprise was the showing by the junior-college product Duffy, who had the Panthers’ first dunk of the night — a monstrous two-handed alley oop in the first half — and contributed four points and four rebounds in six scant minutes.

“He was playing with Langston during that stretch in the second half and was part of that defensive team that really got a bunch of stops,” Lundy said. “He’s really physical. He’s had a little knee tendinitis that’s been flaring up on him so he probably didn’t get in as many minutes as he probably will in the future.

“But he’s doing well.”

For the second straight season opener, BJ Freeman wasn’t on the court

It certainly wasn’t the way one of the five preseason choices for first team all-Horizon League or the Panthers wanted things to play out, but Freeman wasn’t in attendance after breaking team rules coming into the game.

“I don’t anticipate it’s going to be dragging out,” Lundy said. “He had a violation of team rules, we sat him. He wanted to be here tonight but I have a policy that if you’re suspended you can watch from home.

“I anticipate he’ll be back.”

Whether that will be in time for UWM’s next game at Providence on Saturday remains to be seen. But there is little question the Panthers were lacking Freeman’s presence a bit even against Stout.

“I think offensively, he gives us an identity,” Lundy said. “Not only does he score, but in a game like this there would have been a lot of assists, too. He finds guys. And he would have played in a lot of space.

“There’s no doubt he would have made a difference. But standards are standards.”

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