The first iteration of the I-43 Battle in the 2024-25 season is in the books as Milwaukee traveled north to Green Bay, taking down the Phoenix 88-67, as the Phoenix fall to 0-3 in league play.
Gottlieb made news over the weekend, after benching the nation’s leading scorer, Anthony Roy, for Saturday’s loss to Cleveland State. After the game on Saturday, Gottlieb would only say it was a decision made by him, and supported by his assistant coaches and the team. Roy posted on his personal account on Sunday that he had missed shootaround and took accountability for his actions, apologizing to the team, coaches, and fans. By Wednesday night, all things seemed resolved, as Roy was back in the starting lineup for the Phoenix in its rivalry game.
Roy started the scoring for Green Bay to give the Phoenix a very early lead, which Marcus Hall added to with a made 3 of his own, giving Green Bay a 6-1 lead in the opening minutes. Naturally, Milwaukee was able to answer back and after exchanging baskets furiously, a Preston Ruedinger jumper with 14:54 left in the 1st half gave Green Bay a 13-12 advantage. Just eight seconds later, Jamichael Stillwell hit a 3, putting the Panthers up 15-13, a lead which it would never get back.
Throughout the remainder of the half, Milwaukee had a few moments to really blow things open, but each time Green Bay had just enough of a response to reel the game back in just enough to seem manageable. Near the midway point of the period, Milwaukee hit a then high lead of 11, at 28-17, before Roy, Foster Wonders, and Isaiah Miranda all found the bottom of the net to bring the lead back down to 4 at 28-24. The Panthers were able to get the lead back to as much as 13 after Erik Pratt made 2 technical free throws after Roee Oselka drew the whistle coming out of the final media stoppage of the half. Green Bay did dig in, cutting that lead down to 6 before Darius Duffy made a layup in the final minute of the half to give Milwaukee a 46-38 lead at halftime.
Preston Ruedinger drained a 3 and Anthony Roy flushed a dunk as Green Bay opened the second half scoring on a 5-0 run, cutting the lead to just 3 at 46-43 less than 75 seconds into the period. The Panthers found their footing in the 2nd half, quickly building the lead back out to 10 at 55-45. Anthony Roy made a jumper with 14:52 left in regulation to cut the lead to 8 before Milwaukee opened up on the Phoenix, scoring the next 15 straight points, to give the Panthers a 72-50 lead. The Milwaukee lead bubbled up to as high as 29 late in the 2nd as the Panthers ran away with the contest, wrapping up at the final of 88-67.
The Panthers win came largely from the efforts of Jamichael Stillwell, as he finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds in the ballgame. Kentrell Pullian also flirted with a double-double, totaling 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Erik Pratt chipped in 12 and AJ McKee added 10 as well.
Anthony Roy was held below his average on the season, scoring 20 points on 6-13 shooting and only 2-5 from behind the arc. Marcus Hall added in 18. Isaiah Miranda, who saw his first minutes since November 16th against Providence also finished in double digits, scoring 10 points, nearly matching his season total over the other 3 games he saw minutes in.
As a team, once again, the rebounding disparity continues to torture the Phoenix. Milwaukee more than double Green Bay on the glass, out-rebounding the Phoenix 46-22 in total, 22 of which came on the offensive end of the floor. Green Bay also struggled from deep, shooting just 7-24 from behind the arc, compared to Milwaukee’s 12-29.
Green Bay is back on the road to wrap up its nonconference schedule, starting with a matchup against the UC- Santa Barbara Banana Slugs on Saturday evening. Tipoff is set for 6pm CT.
