DAYTON, Ohio - The Milwaukee men's basketball team rallied from a 20-point deficit to force a tie in the final seconds, only to see a Wright State free throw with 3.2 seconds left spoil the comeback in an 84-83 decision Thursday night at the Nutter Center.
 
The Panthers (15-8, 6-4 Horizon League) trailed the Raiders (14-10, 8-3 Horizon League) by as many as 20 points in the first half and were still behind by 11 with five minutes to play. They never gave up, tying the game on a pair of free throws by Matt Tiby with 5.5 seconds left on the clock.
 
"I thought our guys played really well," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "Obviously, in the first half they were scoring how they wanted and when they wanted. The second half, we were able to do some things and get some stops. We put ourselves in a great position in a tough environment on the road. I thought we made some good decisions down the stretch and that it was going to be enough to win the game, but it just didn't happen that way."
 
Following the final Tiby make, Wright State pushed the ball up the court for a final attempt at the win. However, Milwaukee committed a foul with 3.2 seconds left and Joe Thomasson's one-of-two effort from the line helped the home team escape.
 
"We just haven't panicked that way this year," Jeter said. "Basketball is a game of runs and you just try and keep plugging away at it. That is why I like this group so much – they are resilient and try to figure out a way to make things happen."
 
Akeem Springs led the offense with 21 points, adding six rebounds and three assists. Austin Arians finished with 16 points, as did Jordan Johnson, who added 10 assists for his fourth double-double of the season and sixth outing of the year with 10-or-more assists.
 
Tiby finished a rebound short of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards despite foul trouble, as the Panthers shot 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the floor for the evening.
 
JT Yoho paced the Raiders with a game-high 29 points. Thomasson chipped in 15 off the bench.
 
His jumper with just 35 seconds left gave WSU an 82-76 advantage and looked to seal the win. But, J.R. Lyle came up big – hitting a three-pointer and then stealing the inbounds – finding Springs for a layup to make it a one-point game at 82-81.
 
After a foul, one-of-two WSU free throws pushed the lead to two points and Milwaukee had the ball for a chance to tie. Johnson drove the lane and had his shot blocked, but Tiby was there for the rebound and got fouled, calmly sinking the pair of free throws to knot the game up and seemingly send it on its way to overtime.
 
However, a foul was whistled at midcourt and, after a miss on the second, Springs half-court attempt went wide as the clock ran out.
 
The first half featured red-hot shooting by the Raiders, clicking along at 80 percent until deep into the period. Yoho went off for 21 of his points in the first 20 minutes alone, with Wright State building a lead to as many as 20 with just under nine minutes left in the period at 35-15.
 
From there the Panthers roared back, going on a 15-5 spree of their own that got them back in the contest. A trio of 3's – two by Cody Wichmann – got them rolling and Milwaukee was back within 10 at 40-30 on two Wichmann free throws.
 
Arians hit a long three from the wing that trimmed it back to seven at 47-40, but Wright State ended up with the 10-point cushion at intermission at 52-42.
 
The Raiders ended up at 70.4 percent (19-of-27) for the first half, the highest percentage by any Horizon League team in a first half this season. Milwaukee was also very good at 57.1 percent (12-of-21).
 
Up next, the Panthers remain on the road and travel to league newcomer Northern Kentucky for a game Saturday evening. Tip off against the Norse is set for 6 p.m. CST.