AMES, Iowa - The Milwaukee men's basketball team held Iowa State to 25 percent shooting after halftime and gradually built a lead to as many as 20 points in claiming an impressive 74-56 victory over Iowa State Monday night on the road at Hilton Coliseum.
 
The Panthers (2-0) used an 11-2 run midway through the second half to extend their lead to double-figures for the first time over the Cyclones (0-2) at 52-41. It was all Milwaukee from there, never allowing Iowa State to get any closer the rest of the way.
 
The statement victory by UWM and first-year head coach Pat Baldwin gave Iowa State – a team that has made the NCAA Tournament each of the past six seasons and had won 44 of its last 50 at home – its first loss in a home opener in 20 years.
 
"I think we have a lot of guys who are experienced and were poised during a huge moment," Baldwin said. "That's what we need from our guys out on the floor to help us win. We had contributions from everyone, so to take it [the lead] up to 15, then 20, speaks volumes about our guys."
 
Balanced scoring and strong defense were the keys to the night, played in front of a packed house of 13,853.
 
"That has to be our staple, we've talked about that a million times with our guys," Baldwin said about the defensive effort. "And we really preached that when we came out from (halftime) break, that the defense was going to have to carry us the rest of the way."
 
Brock Stull led the way with 17 points, including a deep three-pointer at the halftime buzzer that gave the squad the added momentum it needed heading into the locker room.
 
Brett Prahl had 14 and Bryce Nze 13, with the duo down low combining for 11-of-13 shooting from the floor and nine rebounds.
 
Bryce Barnes added 10 points to make it four in double-figures.
 
Nick Weiler-Babb and Jeff Beverly each had 11 to lead Iowa State.
 
It was the second-half defense that did it, holding the Cyclones without a field goal for over seven minutes at one point in the middle of the period. In all, Milwaukee held its opponent to 38.1 percent shooting on the night, outscoring them 35-24 after halftime.
 
Milwaukee led by nine after its first possession of the second half, but the Cyclones responded and started to get the crowd behind them. Four free throws in a row and a three-point play gave Iowa State seven in a row to get it down to just two at 41-39 at the 15:45 mark.
 
Vance Johnson then scored his only basket of the game, but it was a big one, getting a lay-in in traffic to turn the momentum back in UWM's favor.
 
That was the start of the game-changing 11-2 run, with Stull's 3 making it 50-41 and forcing a timeout before Nze's nice up-and-under gave the Panthers their first lead of double-digits at 52-41.
 
The team kept it up from there and a 9-1 run just after iced it, taking the score from 60-49 to 69-50 on free throw from Jeremiah Bell, who finished with eight points and six rebounds on the night.
 
It did not look good early, as missed shots and turnovers saw UWM trail 13-5. However, a spirited 11-0 run gave Milwaukee a 16-13 advantage and the confidence it needed to get the impressive road victory.
 
Not to be lost in the win, the Panthers were close to 50 percent from the floor for the evening, sinking 24-of-50 (48 percent). August Haas also provided important minutes off the bench, finishing with eight points, four rebounds and five assists with just one turnover in 22 minutes on the court. UWM also claimed a small edge in the rebounding battle, 31-29.
 
Up next, the Panthers return to Milwaukee to host the "Black & Gold Shootout" at UWM Panther Arena, the MTE featuring Florida International, Elon and Concordia-St. Paul. The team will play three games in three days, starting with CSP Friday, tipping off at 8 p.m.