MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee men's basketball team used a key 10-2 scoring run to turn the game around down the stretch and scored 19 of the final 25 points of the contest to claim a 76-67 victory over Northern Kentucky Monday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (10-5, 1-1 Horizon League) trailed the Norse (4-9, 0-2 Horizon League) by as many as 10 points in the first half and still trailed by four, at 61-57, with under eight minutes to play. From there it was all Milwaukee, overcoming a slow first half by shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor after intermission.
 
"It was a game of runs and it was the last run that we had that put us over the top," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "It was late, it was the last three minutes or so and Jordy (Jordan Johnson) was a big part of that. I thought J.J. was phenomenal defensively with the blocks, I thought we got a critical stop – one that has eluded us all year."
 
Jordan Johnson led the way with a season-high 23 points, adding eight rebounds, five assists and a steal in 37 minutes. His back-to-back driving layups and follow-up free throws on three-point plays turned the tide and keyed the 10-2 decisive scoring run.
 
"Clearly Jordan at the end with the two and-ones, that was big," Jeter said. "When you look at the stat sheet and see 30 free throws, that is a good sign for us."
 
Milwaukee broke a 20-year old school record by finishing with 14 blocks (former standard was 11 set in 1995), led by J.J. Panoske, who also set a new single-game record with eight to edge past his own prior school mark of seven set against Loyola in February of 2013.
 
"I guess people had to see it to believe it, but we were watching tape and watching this Northern Kentucky team play and we had some major concerns coming in," Jeter said. "They battle, they are very feisty and scrappy. Regardless of their record, they are a very tough team that has very good guard play."
 
Panoske added 13 points and five rebounds to his stellar night. Matt Tiby had another double-double, finishing with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Akeem Springs added a dozen and JayQuan McCloud was a spark off the bench with 10 points, three boards, two assists and a couple of blocks.
 
Lavone Holland led the Norse with 19 points and eight rebounds. Drew McDonald was the only other visitor in double figures with 14.
 
Following an ice-cold start from the floor where Milwaukee made just two of its first 17 shot attempts (11.8 percent), the team persevered and played solid defense to help make it a one-possession game at the half at 34-32.
 
The Panthers found themselves without a point on the scoreboard at the first media timeout, trailing 9-0 at the 15:18 mark after missing their first nine shots.
 
The Norse eventually led by 10 on a pair of occasions, including at 22-12 with 7:08 to play before UWM dug its way back in, doing most of its damage at the free throw line. Milwaukee had 19 attempts from the charity stripe in the first half, making 14.
 
The Panthers also made six of their last eight field goals in that stretch, helping them finish at 32 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes. The defense performed well, limiting the visitors to 32.4 percent field-goal shooting to nearly make it an even game at intermission.
 
Milwaukee took its first lead at 37-34 on a Springs three and eventually led by five points at 49-44 on a pair of Springs charity tosses with 14:43 to play.
 
Just when it looked to be Milwaukee's game, Northern Kentucky turned the tide and went on a 17-8 scoring run that eventually gave the Norse that 61-57 lead with 7:41 remaining.
 
Tiby then picked up his fourth foul and had to come out at the 6:58 mark, but Johnson took over. He went coast-to-coast and was fouled to grab a 62-61 lead and then, on the next possession, blew down the lane again and was hammered, making the layup and the free throw to extend the lead to 65-63 on the scoreboard.
 
Panoske's block on the next possession gave him the record and on the run out Johnson fed a streaking McCloud for a fastbreak layup and a 67-63 advantage that forced an NKU timeout.
 
Milwaukee forced a turnover and a Tiby dunk alone in transition, followed by a pair of Tiby free throws, made it 71-65 and got the crowd cheering loudly.
 
In all, the Panthers scored nine points in a row down the stretch, with a meaningless Norse basket at the buzzer breaking the string.
 
UWM ended the night at 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the floor, compared to 37.5 percent (27-of-72) for the Norse. The Panthers got to the free throw line 30 times – making 23 – compared to an 8-for-8 showing by the visitors.
 
Up next, the Panthers continue Horizon League play with a swing through Ohio to take on Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Up first is a Thursday matchup against the Penguins, set to start at 6:45 p.m. CST.