Buried in a blizzard of turnovers, UWM lost, 76-65, to third-seeded Charlotte on Monday in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational basketball tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida.
UWM fell behind early and spent the rest of the game trying to catch up. But the team was hampered by 20 turnovers, which led to 25 points for Charlotte.
Sophomore guard BJ Freeman led UWM with 15 points, while Markeith Browning II chipped in 13.
Coach Bart Lundy said he was disappointed but proud of what his team had accomplished this year.
“Proud of everyone,” Lundy said. “Proud of our fanbase and our city for really starting to support us. And I believe that this is the first step. That we will continue to build. Hopefully we get a good group of these guys back and we will add pieces – we are already adding pieces – and it’s going to be a great thing here at Milwaukee. This type of season will become the norm.”
UWM pulled off an abrupt turnaround in the first year under Lundy, going from 10-22 last season to 22-12 this year. Picked to finish near the bottom of the Horizon League, the Panthers instead finished second, just a game out of first.
