MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee men's basketball team saw its 13-point lead trimmed to down to three with just over a minute to play, but made four free throws in the final 19 seconds to claim a 72-67 victory over Jacksonville University Wednesday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (3-4) steadily built a double-digit lead over the Dolphins (5-3) and led the entire second half. Jacksonville never went away, however, and made it a game late. Milwaukee then did enough from the line in the closing seconds to secure the home victory.
 
"We are learning about each other every day," Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan said. "They are learning more about me as a coach, our staff and what we expect out of them each and every day – and I was proud of how we responded today. They [Jacksonville] didn't quit fighting, give them a lot of credit. We got up, we have to learn how to play with the lead and some things you just can't simulate in practice. I thought our response was terrific."
 
Brock Stull led four players in double-figures with 17 points, adding 11 rebounds for a double-double. Jeremiah Bell was a spark off the bench, netting 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Cody Wichmann added 14 points and five boards.
 
The bench was huge all night for UWM. In addition to Bell, Dan Studer set career-highs in points and rebounds with a near double-double of 10 points and seven boards. The duo helped the Panthers to a 36-10 advantage in bench points for the night.
 
"I thought the bench was fantastic and we are going to need that every night," Jordan said. "This was a true team win. We keep talking in the locker room about needing everybody in the room."
 
J.R. Holder paced the Dolphins with 19 points.
 
A 12-2 run by UWM built the lead to 41-29 and it was still a dozen at 57-45 on a three-pointer by Stull with 8:52 to play after the Dolphins had been within seven.
 
The Panthers kept answering when needed and the lead was still double-figures at 60-50 with just under six minutes to play. From there, Jacksonville hit a trio of free throws and got another bucket to get within five, but Bell answered with a stellar drive down the lane for a 62-55 advantage.
 
The Panthers could never quite put the visitors away. Jacksonville put together yet another push and a three by Cody Helgeland made it a one-possession game at 68-65 with 1:13 remaining.
 
UWM turned the ball over but forced a quick miscue on defense as well and, after an offensive rebound with 19 seconds left, needed to secure the game from the line. Bell was perfect on his two attempts and two more makes provided the final scoring.
 
"I loved the crowd we had tonight," Jordan said. "We needed some energy late and I was pleased with the home fans. It was good to be back home, knowing that we are going to go back on the road for a few games. The guys were excited to be back in Panther Arena."
 
The Panthers netted the final seven points of the half, three on a swish at the buzzer from the corner by Wichmann to make it 36-27 at intermission and give UWM its biggest lead of the game to that point.
 
Milwaukee connected on close to half of its shots (12-of-26) in the opening frame and went 7-of-9 from the free throw line compared to no free throw attempts at all by the Dolphins.
 
That early charge was also led by the bench, highlighted by the first-half play of Studer. He came into the game with career-highs of four points and three rebounds and had doubled-up both of those totals by the half (8 pts/6 reb).
 
The first period was back-and-forth. Five in a row gave Jacksonville a lead, but a three from Stull at the 9-minute mark turned the tables back to the Panthers at 17-15. Down 22-21, UWM forced the fifth lead change of the period with an 8-0 run, capped by a Jeremy Johnson three to up the advantage to 29-22 with just under four to play. They never trailed again.
 
The Panthers finished at 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the floor, making eight three-pointers. They also out-rebounded the Dolphins, 37-31. Jacksonville finished at 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field.
 
Up next, it is back to being road warriors for the Panthers, starting December with four more road games. The first stop is at Montana, set to be played at 8 p.m. CST Saturday.