ATHENS, Ohio - Ohio University fended off the Milwaukee men's basketball team in the closing minutes to escape with a 71-69 victory Wednesday evening at the Convocation Center.
 
The Panthers (4-7) and Bobcats (6-2) battled all night long in a game that featured six ties and eight lead changes and was never more than a two-possession game the entire second half. The victory keeps Ohio unbeaten at home this season at 5-0.
 
"I was proud of our guys for their fight," Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan said. "We got down nine in the first half and the bench came in and did a good job. We fought and got back in it and had it at one point at halftime. Each and every game, I am seeing something different from this team that they have carried over from the last game."
 
Cody Wichmann led the way for Milwaukee, finishing with 15 points, which all came on three-pointers. He also chipped in four rebounds and two steals. August Haas had 11 points and six rebounds, while Bryce Barnes went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to boost his effort of 11 points off the bench.
 
"There is a lot to learn about how to win a game," Jordan said. "The first part is about being in position and our effort does that. Guys play extremely hard, they play for each other, they play unselfishly – so I couldn't be more proud on how we approached this game."
 
Antonio Campbell led the Bobcats with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Brock Stull chipped in six points and grabbed a team-high eight boards for UWM.
 
The final deadlock of the night came at 57-57, with Barnes calmly sinking a pair of free throws with 6:45 left.
 
"I thought our shot selection could have been better down the stretch," Jordan said. "We were getting in the lane and then settled for a couple of jump shots when we could have kept attacking the paint. To have only nine turnovers, to attack the basket the way we did … I was just proud of our effort."
 
Ohio made a push, scoring 11 of 16 points over the next three-plus minutes to lead 68-62. Milwaukee once again would never quit, answering back with two more free throws by Barnes, followed by a late jumper by Dan Studer that made the score 69-66 with 13 seconds left. The Bobcats would seal it from the line with a pair of makes, with Wichmann's three at the buzzer accounting for the final scoring of the night.
 
Down at intermission, UWM took its first lead of the second half, 37-36, on a layup by Brett Prahl within the first minute. Back and forth from there, Bryce Nze would convert a three-point play on a tough layup and free throw to give UWM the 43-41 advantage with 14:42 left.
 
That helped keep it rolling for eight points in a row by the Panthers, and Studer's layup gave UWM the 45-41 lead before ties at 49 and 51-all.
 
Milwaukee didn't let a slow start and an early deficit derail the evening, not being rattled after the Bobcats scored 10 of the first 12 points of the game in eventually leading by nine at 21-12.
 
Wichmann started swishing three's from there, cutting the deficit to 23-18 on a triple from the wing at the 10:59 mark. UWM would respond with an 11-5 scoring run to erase most of it, pulling within three on Jeremiah Bell's lay-in to make it 26-23.
 
Wichmann found the zone, getting nothing but net on back-to-back 3's to tie the contest up and then give Milwaukee the 31-28 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the period.
 
The Panthers finished the night at 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the floor and committed just nine turnovers. Ohio checked in at 48.2 percent (27-of-56).
 
Up next, the team finally gets to play in its home city again, welcoming Western Illinois Saturday. Tip time for the contest, which will be played at the Klotsche Center, is set for 2 p.m.