Sometimes all you need is a second chance.

Last Wednesday, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was losing a battle against Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

The Panthers had given up 35 points in the first half alone, and weren’t off to a fast start in the second. However, Milwaukee turned a 17-point second half deficit into a seven-point overtime victory to win their first road game in 10 tries, 81-74.

Torre Johnson struggled in the first half as he couldn’t sink his turn-around jump shot. Somewhere around halftime, Johnson became possessed.

His final line is jaw-dropping, considering he hadn’t played in over a year before this month: 19 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. That’s good for his second double-double in as many games.

Tim Flowers, who led the Panthers in scoring on opening night, failed to score 10 points. He got into foul trouble early, pulling a loose ball foul on the opening tip. Flowers scored nine points and had seven rebounds in the game.

After the entire team got over their cold shooting (27.3 percent in the first half), the Panthers lit up the Cardinals. Paige Paulsen, who had trouble shooting throughout the first couple games of the season, scored all of his team-leading 19 points after halftime. Paulsen would go on to finish with seven rebounds and 4 of 7 shooting beyond the arc. He didn’t sink a shot in the first half, and that’s when Paulsen said head coach Rob Jeter approached him.

“Actually, in the locker room, coach gave me all of the confidence in the world. He told me to find my open shot and said he would take me out if I didn't shoot it. I have to respect him for that because he let me keep firing,” Paulsen said in the post-game press conference.

With roughly 30 seconds to go, the Panthers called timeout. Head coach Rob Jeter drew up a play, and the Panthers came out of the huddle looking to execute. Hoping to put some points on the board quickly, Franklin took a well-contested shot and airballed it, drawing the ire of Jeter during a timeout. After regaining possession, the Panthers made their run at tying it up. With 9.6 seconds left on the clock, Paulsen stuck a clutch three-pointer with a defender's hand in his face. Brandon Lampley from Ball State was fouled on the ensuing possession and dropped both of his free throws to put the Cardinals up by three. And that was when Ricky Franklin would get his chance at redemption. If there ever was a time that Franklin could make things right, this was it. Franklin dribbled up the middle of the court, barely even taking notice of the defender in front of him. His eyes were on the prize. With time winding down, Ricky Franklin took his chance. Tie game.

Franklin stuck a three-pointer from the top of the key, but he might as well have stuck the hearts of the Ball State faithful.

“Coach just drew it up. He told me to bring it up and just shoot,” Franklin said. “I had missed the one prior to that but I didn't get down on myself. I just came back and hit the shot.”

The Panthers would then steal the ball on the inbounds pass, but there was no time left to set up a play. The desperation half court shot missed, but the damage had been done. BSU and UWM went to overtime.

The Panthers had sparked a run that would lead them to victory. Milwaukee shot the lights out, making 4 of 6 shots taken in the extra period. Paulsen put the Panthers on top for good with a shot at 2:29 remaining that put the score at 73-72. Milwaukee did not look back.

Anthony Newell, a high school teammate of Tim Flowers and Kevin Johnson at Chicago Simeon, led all scorers with 29 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds, as did Peyton Stovall. Ball State falls to 0-2 while Milwaukee improves to 2-0.

The Panthers play Tuesday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena at 7 p.m. against South Dakota State. Yesterday’s game against Northern Iowa was too late to make print deadlines, but you can find the game recap on http://sports.uwmpost.com.

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