SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Milwaukee men's basketball team could not keep up the hot shooting in the second half in dropping an 86-62 decision to East Tennessee State University Friday at the Pentagon Showcase.
 
The Panthers (1-3) shot over 60 percent in the first half, but a scoring run by the Buccaneers (3-1) coming out of halftime combined with a cold second half from the floor helped ETSU pull away.
 
"I thought we had really good energy the entire game, even when we couldn't get things to fall in the second half," Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan said. "Guys continued to fight, we kept going at them, we kept attacking."
 
Brock Stull led the way with 16 points, finishing 6-of-9 from the floor while tying for the team lead with six rebounds. Jeremy Johnson came off the bench to score 14 points and grab four boards, finishing an impressive 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
 
Jeremiah Bell was also in double-figures at 11, while Cody Wichmann netted eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
 
"I was really proud of our energy level throughout the game," Jordan said. "I like the fact that its' a quick turnaround and we have to wash this one out and be ready to go tomorrow."
 
The Buccaneers, ranked No. 22 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, finished the night with six different players in double-figures. Hanner Mosquera-Perea topped the list with 15 points, with A.J. Merriweather adding 13. David Burrell had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
 
The Panthers lost the turnover count, 18-to-11, with ETSU turning the miscues into a 21-9 edge in points off turnovers. Milwaukee did win the rebounding battle, 32-30, but was held under 20 percent from the floor in the second half, finishing the game at 41.3 percent (19-of-46) from the floor.
 
"We were getting in the paint and kicking and getting first drives and second drives in the first half," Jordan said. "In the second half, they adjusted and didn't help off as much and made us try to finish over them and they have long, athletics guys. I thought we got indecisive and they had a lot to do with that. The 18 turnovers is far too many to have an opportunity to beat a really good team … and they are a really good team."
 
A very close game at the half, Milwaukee came out slow out of the locker room, sinking some free throws along the way but missing its first seven attempts from the floor. The Bucs built the three-point halftime lead to 10 over the first five minutes and eventually posted a 24-11 scoring run to take a 65-49 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.
 
The Panthers never gave in, but were never closer than that the rest of the way.
 
The teams gave a nice crowd at Heritage Court at the Pentagon an entertaining first half, with the lead changing hands four times in addition to five other ties the first 20 minutes. Milwaukee had it tied at 28-28 on a pair of Bell free throws with 4:47 to play, only to see the Bucs push ahead on a three, jumper and dunk to pour in seven straight.
 
Stull's three-pointer just in front of the buzzer trimmed the deficit to 41-38 and gave him a game-high 15 points in the first 20 minutes of game action.
 
UWM shot an impressive 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the floor in the first half, but nine turnovers hampered the effort, turned into a 10-1 advantage in points off turnovers by ETSU.
 
The Panthers started slowly. A brilliant drive to the hoop by August Haas drew them even at 8-8 after ETSU scored seven of the first nine points of the night. Stull then came through with a four-point play to make it 14-11 and extend UWM's first lead of the night. A big block by Dan Studer came next, leading to a runout fastbreak from Bell and a 16-11 advantage at the 11:33 mark. ETSU fired right back, however, ripping off a 10-2 spurt that forced a 21-18 edge and a Milwaukee timeout.
 
Game two of the holiday tournament is tomorrow, taking on UC Irvine at 2 p.m.