MISSOULA, Mont. - The Milwaukee men's basketball team overcame its biggest deficit of the night and had the opportunity to force a tie late in regulation before Montana escaped with a 75-69 victory Saturday evening at Dahlberg Arena.
 
"Our guys kept fighting to the end," Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan said. "It was a nine-point ballgame and we fought to get back in it. We had a couple cracks to tie it up and that's all you can ask for on the road – you want to be in the game and give yourself a chance to win and I thought we did that. I am proud of our guys for the effort."
 
Bryce Nze had a breakout game, finishing with his first career double-double after posting 15 points and 11 rebounds, while also playing a crucial role in the second-half comeback attempt. He went 6-of-8 from the field and added a block in 19 minutes.
 
"Bryce is a great kid and he's learning," Jordan said. "He had a whole year off with his injury and has gotten himself in good shape. His motor was running tonight – extremely active on the boards and I thought we found him and he finished strong around the basket. He's getting better every day."
 
Brock Stull had 13 points and five rebounds, while Jeremiah Bell was also in double-figures with 13 points off the bench.
 
Ahmaad Rorie led Montana with a game-high 21 points.
 
"There were some mistakes," Jordan said. "We will watch those, we will improve and we will be ready to go on Monday night."
 
The Panthers (3-5) and Grizzlies (2-6) played a back-and-forth game that featured five ties and nine lead changes overall. After neither team led by more than four points the entire contest, the Griz used back-to-back 3's and a pair of free throws to cap a 14-5 run and lead, 69-60, with under seven minutes to play.
 
From there, the UWM defense buckled down, holding the Grizzlies to just one made field goal the final seven-plus minutes, which came in the final seconds.
 
August Haas hit a layup and Bell made back-to-back hoops to extend the run. Nze's bucket with 1:45 left made it an 8-0 spree and had UWM back within a point at 69-68.
 
A pair of free throws by the Grizzlies extended the advantage to three. Milwaukee had four different opportunities to pull even the rest of the way, but none of the attempts from three-point range would fall.
 
An entertaining first half opened the night, with both teams catching fire after a slow start and each ending the period close to 60 percent from the floor. The Panthers' connections came from long-distance, sinking more three-pointers (8) in the first 20 minutes than two-pointers (6). Milwaukee finished 8-of-15 on three's in the first half.
 
The final one of the period came from Cody Wichmann, who buried a deep triple from the right wing to make it 38-36 Panthers with under a minute remaining. One more free throw by the Griz provided the final scoring of the frame.
 
It was a slow start to the game for each team. The Panthers had just one made field goal in the first five minutes before turning it around. It was 10-10 on a Wichmann three from the corner with 13:38 to play and eight UWM points in just 74 seconds forced a Montana timeout with the score 24-20 with just under eight minutes remaining in the period.
 
The Panthers finished 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor on the night, sinking 10 three-pointers on the evening. The Griz were an even 50 percent (28-for-56) in the contest, winning the rebounding battle at 30-29.
 
It's a day off to travel next, heading down the road to Bozeman for a Monday evening tilt against Montana State. Tip off time is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.