Milwaukee falls against Valpo, faces Wright State next

It was not a surprising loss, but the way the Milwaukee Panthers lost was unexpected. The Panthers (13-7, 3-3) only shot 32.3 percent from the field including 19.4 percent from behind the arc as Valparaiso walked away easily with a 75-62 victory.

Matt Tiby led the Panthers with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Jordan Aaron was the next closest with only 13 points.

Milwaukee jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the first seven minutes of the game, but that was when the Crusaders took over and dominated the rest of the game.

The closest the Panthers were ever able to get to regaining the lead was when they trailed by two, 29-27, on an Austin Arians three.

Milwaukee’s poor shooting performance was just too much to over come, as the Panthers dropped another conference contests.

Up next the Panthers will finish up their road trip on Tuesday as they face Wright State (12-9, 4-2) at six o’clock. This game will be featured on Time Warner Cable and as usual on WISN-AM 1130.

Milwaukee holds the all-time series record at 24-23, but lately they have struggled against Wright State especially when they have to travel to Dayton. The Panthers have failed to win a game on the road against Wright State since 2005, and this road game will tough to win as well.

A year ago the Raiders lost in the Horizon League Championship game, and were selected to finish second in conference this season. Currently, the Raiders are second in the standings after beating Cleveland State this weekend.

The Raiders offense only averages 67.2 points per game on 45 percent shooting, but their offense is very tough to game plan against. They are extremely balanced with six players averaging at least seven points and no player averaging more than 11 points.

Senior forward AJ Pacher leads the Raiders with 10.4 points per game as he has made 61.4 percent of his shots from the floor.

It will not be an easy game for either team, but this is a must win for the Milwaukee Panthers who have dropped two of their last three conference games and are in danger of going below .500 in the Horizon League. They will need to take smart shots, while avoiding long offensive droughts if they even want to have a chance of winning this game.