MILWAUKEE - Bryce Nze just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds and Brett Prahl added 15 points to help lead the Milwaukee men's basketball team to a 66-51 victory over FIU Saturday evening at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (3-1) used a decisive 13-2 scoring run midway through the second half to put away the visiting Panthers (1-3) in day two action in the "Black & Gold Shootout".
 
"Give our guys credit for bouncing back from a performance that they wish they could have back," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "But, obviously, we had to turn the chapter and move on to today. We got off to a pretty good start, especially on the defensive end. Offensively I thought we were much sharper."
 
Nze and Prahl combined to make 13-of-20 shots from the floor, with Prahl adding six rebounds.
 
"We were able to establish our two guys inside and that opened up a lot of things for our perimeter guys," Baldwin said. "Overall, I am pleased and happy with tonight and now it's on to the next game."
 
Jeremiah Bell netted 11 points off the bench, with Brock Stull contributing a line of 7 points/6 rebounds/6 assists.
 
Eric Lockett paced Florida International with a game-high 23 points.
 
Up just two at the half, Milwaukee came out with five points from Jeremy Johnson, hitting a quick 3 followed by a fastbreak layup to force a timeout at 36-29.
 
FIU pushed back and was back within five at 36-31 before Milwaukee took over.

Consecutive 3's by Johnson and Nze – with Nze's being off-balance and at the shot-clock buzzer – keyed a decisive scoring run. The final tally was 13-2, with UWM taking a 49-33 lead at the 12:27 mark and controlling the contest from there.
 
Bell's triple at the 9:20 mark made it 52-36 and another from distance handed the Panthers their biggest lead of the night at 62-44 a bit later.
 
A couple of big scoring runs provided a tight 31-29 lead for the Panthers at intermission. UWM came out livelier than the day prior, scoring the first five points of the night in grabbing a 9-5 advantage at the first media timeout.
 
It was mostly Nze early, accounting for nine points and six boards through the first eight-plus minutes. FIU made some noise after falling behind early, eventually grabbing a 10-9 lead. It was again all Milwaukee from there, going on a 17-4 run to take its biggest lead of the period at 26-14 on a layup by Prahl with just under six minutes to play.
 
However, the visiting Panthers were not done either, scoring 11 in a row as part of a 15-2 run of their own to jump back ahead at 29-28. A big three by Bryce Barnes put UWM back ahead at the horn. Nze and Prahl went 9-of-14 in the first half, each netting 11.
 
For the game, Milwaukee shot 48 percent (24-of-50) from the floor, made over half of its 3's (9-of-17) and again won the rebounding battle at 37-29. They limited FIU to 35.2 percent (19-of-54) shooting overall, including just 26 percent on 3's.
 
The Panthers wrap up the Black & Gold Shootout Sunday, taking on Elon at 3:30 p.m. The Phoenix stand 2-0 in the event following an 84-62 victory over Concordia-St. Paul earlier in the day Saturday. The game could be for the Black & Gold Shootout title, depending on the result of the FIU/Concordia-St. Paul game that tips off at 1 p.m.