The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team came out Monday night against Edgewood College as if they had something to prove.

After an embarrassing home loss to UW-Parkside the game before, in which they allowed the Rangers to shoot 58 percent from the field, the Panthers came out focused on defense from the start, and won 77-53.

They used full-court pressure to create 21 turnovers that led to 27 points and only allowed Edgewood to shoot 31 percent for the game. In the first half, UWM took control early, jumping out to a 21-10 lead.

However, the Eagles wouldn’t go away. They went on an 8-0 run and closed the gap to 33-31 at halftime.

In the second half, it was all Panthers. They used an amazing 24-3 run to start the second half and put the game out of reach.

“We were looking for some defensive combinations in the second half and I liked the group that we had out there, they played well together,” said coach Rob Jeter, who wants his players to focus better on the defensive side of the ball without being so aggressive. “Were just overaggressive, a lot of fouls we got were just reach-ins after we had people stopped or in poor position.”

Paige Paulsen, who had a solid night with 11 points and eight rebounds, and forward Marcus Skinner both fouled out.

The bright spot of the night was sophomore Ricky Franklin. After a rough first game, Franklin came out from the opening tip and started firing, hitting his first four shots and going into halftime with a game-high 10 points.

“The first game it was hard coming out in front of all those people when the lights came on,” Franklin said. “After I put it all on the floor, it started to come back to me. Coach told me to be aggressive and play free and that’s what I did tonight.” Franklin ended the game with a team-high 14 points.

Avery Smith, Paulsen and Allan Hanson all scored in double digits for the Panthers, who will now prepare for a tough three games in three days as part of the John Thompson Foundation Classic, being held in Milwaukee.

Although it’s going to be a tough test, Jeter said it can do nothing but help.

“I think three games in a row will help this young group of guys,” he said. “We need game experience like this. It’s not a work of art yet, not a masterpiece, it’s all a process.”

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