Milwaukee outpaces Loyola, gains No. 4 seed

Tony Meier calmly stood at the free throw line as he had done 200 times before. He accepted the ball on a bounce from the official, dribbled a couple times and dropped in a swoosh.

The Black and Gold fan base behind the bench exploded, because it was the 1,000th point of Tony Meier’s career. It was that kind of day for the Milwaukee Panthers, who rode out an extensive scoreless streak and came out in the “W” column, 78-79 over Loyola.

Milwaukee point guard Kaylon Williams also set the single-season assists mark, passing Marc Mitchell and ended the game with 196 assists on the season. This was in addition to the career D-I mark that Williams set last week.

Milwaukee began the game trading blows with Loyola before a 7-7 tie became a 23-9 lead. That lead gradually evaporated as the Ramblers fought back to bring it within six at 32-26 to end the first half.

Coming out of the gate, the Panthers kept Loyola at arm’s length, extending the lead all the way to 41-31 before the Ramblers fought back. Loyola’s brand new Gentile Arena was deafening as Loyola brought the game within one at 44-43, but on their next offensive possession Loyola’s Jonathon Gac drove the lane and missed a lay-up, with the Panthers gaining possession in a scrum underneath the basket.

A long break in the action happened in the second half when Ben Averkamp swung his right elbow in front of him, striking James Haarsma under his nose and causing him to bleed. Play continued until a stoppage, when coach Rob Jeter pointed out to the officials that Haarsma was injured. While trainer Elliott Meyer attended to Haarsma’s wound, referees reviewed the video and concluded that Averkamp committed a flagrant foul, with Haarsma to take free throws.

Things got chippy in the second half, with Tony Meier and Porter Moser each drawing technical fouls for separate incidents. Once the Panthers had begun to really pull away with minutes remaining, things calmed down and by the time the buzzer sounded, everyone was friends again. Which is what we all wanted.

The Panthers wrapped up the #4 seed of the Horizon League Tournament following their victory. Had Cleveland State dropped the ball against Wright State, the Panthers would have been the #3 seed, but all in all they tied for third place and will open the tournament on Tuesday at the Klotsche Center against UIC.

It is the first time the conference tournament has ever been staged on the campus of UWM, and is a perfect chance for a send-off as the Panthers try to win the Horizon League Championship.

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