Jan. 24, 2014

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MILWAUKEE - Juwan Howard, Jr., scored 24 points and Detroit stifled the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offense en route to a 73-54 win over the Panthers Friday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers started slowly and never truly recovered. Milwaukee led just once in the game, trailed by 10 at halftime and then shot less than 29 percent in the second half.

Milwaukee, which has four players averaging in double figures for the season, did not have anyone in double digits in the contest. J.J. Panoske, Steve McWhorter and Jordan Aaron had nine points apiece.

"We need some time to regroup," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "All season we've been able to regroup, get things turned around, and give that energy and effort to get ourselves back in games. But it all caught us tonight. These guys are better than that, they've worked hard to put themselves in position to do better than that, and it's a group of guys right now that are searching for some things. As a coach, we're going to help them through it."

The Panthers dug themselves an early hole and had a very hard time getting out of it. Detroit scored eight of the first 10 points of the game, though Milwaukee rallied with five-straight points from Malcolm Moore to grab a 12-11 lead. Detroit answered quickly, scoring 11 in a row for a 22-12 advantage.

The Panthers did eventually pull within two at 26-24 on a J.J. Panoske free throw, and again within two at 29-27 on a Moore three-pointer, but the Titans had the final surge of the half. A basket from Howard made it 35-28 and a pair of free throws from Jarod Williams gave Detroit a 38-28 halftime lead.

Milwaukee showed signs of life early in the second half, pulling within 38-34 on a layin by Quinton Gustavson with 16:37 remaining. But Detroit restored a double-digit lead by the 11-minute mark and eliminated any doubt in the outcome with a 14-1 run during which Milwaukee missed 11-straight shots.

UWM plays its next two games at the on-campus Klotsche Center. The Panthers host Wright State Thursday at 7 p.m. and then welcome Oakland Super Bowl Sunday at noon.