“When I get the ball down there, I just feel like I have to do whatever I can do to put my team in position to win basketball games.”
- Tim Flowers

Panthers head coach Rob Jeter is now 3-0 all-time in home-openers after the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team controlled the pace of play against Division II Upper Iowa University for a 78-53 win.

The Panthers (1-0) were picked to finish in fourth place in the preseason Horizon League poll. Jeter has a wide array of talent, as displayed by 11 players who were on the court for more than 10 minutes. In all, 14 players saw time in the opener, the 15th being freshman Brad Carroll who Jeter claimed will be redshirting this season in order to have four years of eligibility starting in the 2008-09 season.

“We got a chance to play a lot of bodies; guys played hard. I think the key for us is to keep putting combinations together,” said Jeter. “I think I have a good understanding of who’s going to play, but it’s just a matter of finding minutes and getting guys some quality time in some stretches.”

Senior transfer Torre Johnson posted a double-double in his first regular season game as a Panther with 16 points and 10 rebounds; he also had three blocks. Johnson marks the second-straight year that a transfer made his debut at UWM with a double-double, Paige Paulsen had 27 points and 12 rebounds last season against Radford in the opener.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to play. I sat out watching the season last year, and it kind of hurt sitting out, but it felt good to actually be a part of what’s really going on in Milwaukee,” said Johnson.

Freshman Tim Flowers had a game-high 18 points as a starter for the Panthers, he was the first true freshman to start the first game of the season since James Wright in 2000. Freshman Anthony Hill also had a standout night with 10 points and five rebounds in just 12 minutes of play.

“When I get the ball down there, I just feel like I have to do whatever I can do to put my team in position to win basketball games,” said Flowers. “If it means going down there to score, or if it means going down there to be a decoy to open things up around the perimeter; to me, it’s just about winning basketball games.”

The Panthers started out slow, allowing the Peacocks (0-1) to score the first five points of the game, but after an 11-0 run halfway through the first, the Panthers found themselves up 20-10.

Johnson had his first block of the game on an attempted three-pointer and followed it up with rebounded slam-dunk after a missed lay-up, putting the Panthers up 14. Johnson blocked another shot with one minute left in the half, allowing UWM to go into the break up 36-19.

UWM had 20 total steals in the game, the most since the 2000-01 season, with freshman Deonte Roberts leading the way with five. The Panthers shot 47.5 percent from the field but most of the misses came from behind-the-arc, as UWM made only four-of-14 three’s.

“I think we have experience, and we have guys that are ready. Our focus has always been trying to get the ball inside and get more shots. The only way you’re going to get more shots, and better shots, is the closer those shots are,” said Jeter. “The statistics say that you’re going to get fouled the closer you are to the basket, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

Jeter’s squad went on a 15-2 run early in the second half to pull away from UIU, ending on two-straight three-pointers by junior guard Ricky Franklin to set the score at 61-32. The bench saw the majority of their play time late in the second, as Jeter saw point contributions from all but two of his 14 players.

The Panthers will get their second test of the season traveling to Ball State, which lost to Butler by 16 points in their opener, on Nov. 14 before hosting four of their last five games in November.

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