UWM 87, UC-Davis 85: Justin Thomas hits a three at the buzzer to lift the Panthers

Not one, not two, but three big fist pumps.

That's how UW-Milwaukee coach Bart Lundy reacted after Justin Thomas drained a 25-foot three-pointer as time expired to lift the Panthers to an 87-85 victory over UC-Davis in the nightcap of the inaugural Cream City Classic at the Klotsche Center on Saturday.

It was an understandable reaction considering it was the first victory over a Division I opponent for the Panthers and Lundy this season, and one that Lundy actually apologized to Aggies coach Jim Les for in the postgame handshake line.

Les, a former NBA player and longtime college coach, no doubt understood Lundy's excitement and wasn't the least bit offended despite his team having victory snatched from it after a making a furious comeback and taking the lead with 14.5 seconds remaining.

"Proud of these guys," said Lundy, whose team takes on Boston University at 3 p.m. on Sunday. UWM (3-3) will wrap up the three-day tournament at 7 p.m. Monday against Southeastern Missouri State.

"They fought and scrapped. We're not pretty and we don't know what we're doing on offense yet half the time. We have to cut down on turnovers. But what we do have is a bunch of winners and guys with heart, and they're playing together.

"They recognize how we need to get better in the areas we need to improve in, and I thought we did all that tonight."

There were 20 more turnovers by the Panthers (leading to 20 points), including five straight and seven on nine possessions at one point in the second half that let the Aggies back into the game.

Box score:UW-Milwaukee 87, UC-Davis 85

There were also fouls on consecutive three-point attempts thanks to some savvy shot fakes by Elijah Pepper. He scored seven points as a result to get UC-Davis to within 84-83 with 25.8 seconds left.

But UWM also had five double-figure scorers – led by Kentrell Pullian's 20 – and 57 bench points and also hit 10 of 16 three-pointers (62.5%).

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

Thomas turns it around

UWM was nursing a razor-thin 84-83 lead with 24.7 seconds remaining when Thomas was fouled, sending him to the free-throw line.

The sophomore guard missed both, leaving the Panthers just 17 for 26 from the charity stripe for the game (more on that later).

"After that happened, I just knew I had to keep my head up and just know that anything can happen," Thomas said. "You can be put in any position at any time. I just had to keep playing to the end."

UC-Davis corralled the second miss then hustled the ball upcourt, with guard Ty Johnson driving to the rim and scoring his 31st and 32nd points of the game.

Now trailing, 85-84, the Panthers advanced the ball to midcourt and called a timeout to set up a final play with 8.9 seconds left.

Markeith Browning II eventually inbounded to Thomas, then it was BJ Freeman who drove from the right wing but hit the side of the backboard with his shot attempt.

Aggies big man Christian Anigwe then made the ill-fated decision to tip the ball out near the top of the key. Thomas couldn't have been in any better position as he caught the ball about 25 feet out and quickly put up a three-pointer with Pepper running at him.

Thomas fell to his back as the ball sailed through the net, and a second later he was smothered by onrushing teammates eager to celebrate the moment.

The officials did their due diligence by checking the replay to make certain Thomas got the shot off in time and before long it was ruled good, sealing the victory.

"BJ got to his spot but he just didn't finish," recounted Thomas, who finished with seven points and four steals in 22 minutes. "Their guy got it and just threw it out and I heard Coach Lundy say, 'Shoot it!' Then I shot it and tried to draw the foul.

"They didn't call it, but it went in. I knew it was on line, but I didn't know if it was going to be short or long. I heard the buzzer after it left my hand, so I knew we were good on that part.

"I wasn't really worried."

Added Lundy: "Really, I couldn't tell (if it was going in). I know he can make shots and he's 6-7 and he can see over guys, so I thought he got a good look at it. He did let it go pretty quick. We did make some mistakes that let them back in it, but if you just keep doing right over and over and keep playing hard, good things happen.

"Justin's been doing things the right way for a good bit of time now, and it came back to reward him."

Pullian a force down low

Sophomore guard Kentrell Pullian played a game- and career-high 36 minutes and responded with what was easily his best game to date.

The 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting were nice, but what stood out most were the game-high-tying nine rebounds the 6-1 guard hauled down – with six of those coming on the offensive end.

The Benton Harbor, Michigan, native was actually Lundy's final signee for the 2022-23 season, and was coming off a game in which he played a season-low two minutes in a loss to St. Thomas.

"In my experience, rebounding's just desire," Lundy said. "Guys have a nose for the ball. Guys that grow up playing see where the ball's coming off. There's an art to it I think, and he's one of the best I've ever seen.

"I've just been waiting for him to find his niche here. He's such a good player. It hadn't clicked for him, then it started to click, then he had a little injury. But I'm happy the fans get to see who he really is.

"They're going to see a lot more of that."

In 17.8 minutes per game, Pullian is averaging 7.2 points, 4.2 rebounds (second on the team to Thomas's 4.4) and 1.8 assists.

"He really is a pest," said Thomas of battling Pullian on the boards in practice. "You're really got to box him out and see where he is. He's only 6-foot but he has so much heart, and he's just everywhere."

Improvement needed at the FT line

The Panthers were fortunate that the two late misses at the charity stripe by Thomas didn't wind up costing them in the end.

UWM did well getting to the line 26 times for the game, but it's going to need to shoot better than the 65.4% it managed over the 40 minutes and the 66.7% it's shooting for the season (78 for 117).

When Lundy was on coach Buzz Williams's staff at Marquette, it rankled some that the Golden Eagles didn't spend much time working as a team on free throws.

Now Lundy has carried the same approach over to UWM.

"It's on guys individually (to improve)," Lundy said. "I have the same philosophy Buzz had – you've got to be tough enough to be able to stand up there and make the free throws. And if you're not making them, you need to get your tail in the gym and shoot.

"All we do is free-throw sprints. So, you get a 1-and-1, and in my experience you can stand in a gym and shoot them as a team all day long and sometimes you get worse. You put them up there knowing their teammates are going to run, when they don't make those then they get in the gym themselves."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UWM 87, UC-Davis 85: Justin Thomas wins it with a three at the buzzer