UWM falls at No. 11-ranked Texas Tech, but shows promise with a gritty effort

An extremely challenging week of games ended with the toughest test yet for the UW-Milwaukee Panthers on Friday, Nov. 14.

The final box score showed an 80-63 defeat against No. 11-ranked Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, but it was nevertheless a solid performance for the Panthers against a much bigger, deeper and more athletic opponent that had won 40 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents coming into the matchup.

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Danilo Jovanovich scored a team-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 32 minutes and gutted through a rolled ankle that sidelined him late in the first half while freshman Sekou Konneh came off the bench to provide career highs of 12 points and eight rebounds in 14 high-energy minutes.

UWM (2-3) came into the game having hung 92 points on Arkansas-Little Rock to open the week, then was drilled by 31 at Indiana two days prior to traveling to face a Red Raiders team that advanced to the Elite 8 appearance in last season’s NCAA tournament and was the highest-ranked opponent the Panthers had faced in nearly six years.

“We could maybe play a little cleaner. But the way we competed was really high-level,” said coach Bart Lundy, whose team actually shot better than Texas Tech for the game, 43.6% to 42.9%, but failed to hit a 3-pointer in the final 24 minutes 22 seconds – typically a must when seeking upsets on the road.

“Over the week, our systems got better. They’re playing together better. They’re really hard to guard, and I thought we did a really good job. Some of their shooters got loose, but we had to do the scout in the hotel ballroom. So, for them to apply it was pretty good stuff.”

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The Panthers actually opened the game by hitting their first three 3-point attempts and led midway through the first half until the Red Raiders seized control with a 14-2 run that featured three 3-pointers of their own.

It was a two-possession game with just over 2 minutes to play in the half when Konneh slammed home a pretty alley-oop dunk, only…

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Publish date : 2025-11-15 04:59:00

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