DeKALB, Ill. - Brett Prahl scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to spark the Milwaukee men's basketball team to a 75-62 victory over Northern Illinois Wednesday evening at the Convocation Center.
 
The Panthers (5-2) shot almost 60 percent on the night and closed the game on a 24-10 run after the Huskies (4-3) had taken a 52-51 lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
 
"Northern was making a run and we withstood that run and then took control of the game the rest of the way," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "It just speaks to our guys about their ability to stay resilient."
 
The double-double was the first of Prahl's career, finishing as one of five UWM players in double-figures in the contest.
 
"Brett did a great job for us," Baldwin said. "We talked about being physical; we talked about feeding him and getting him some opportunities and he certainly did a great job."
 
Jeremy Johnson finished with 13, hitting three 3's. Brock Stull just missed a double-double, adding 12 points and nine boards. Carson Warren-Newsome came through with 11 and Bryce Barnes chipped in 10 points.
 
Eugene German scored a game-high 22 points, but was held to six points in the second after the Panthers made halftime adjustments.
 
Warren-Newsome played a key role. After scoring seven points in 28 minutes on the season entering play today, the freshman came through with some big shots, sinking a trio from long-distance while adding three rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
"Give credit to Carson because he hasn't had much time out there on the floor," Baldwin said. "When his number was called tonight he really did a great job."
 
Milwaukee really turned it on down the stretch. Down 52-51, six points in a row gave the Panthers the lead they would never relinquish, started when Stull scored on a driving layup. It was six quick ones, with Barnes getting a fastbreak layup and Prahl's reverse forcing an NIU timeout with the score at 57-52 with 6:33 to play.
 
Milwaukee connected on an impressive 63.6 percent (14-of-22) shots from the floor in the second half, with Johnson swishing a 3 with the shot clock running out to make it 65-58 with just over four minutes to play that sealed the win.
 
The Panthers scored 15 of the final 19 points of the night, making all six of their free throw attempts in the final 1:23 to put it out of reach.
 
Milwaukee held a 37-33 lead at intermission and did it on 53.3 percent shooting, getting 11 from Prahl. A quick start helped, ripping off 10 points in a row to grab the largest lead of the period at 12-4, holding NIU without a point for four and a half minutes on the clock.
 
Back-and-forth from there, four made NIU field goals in a row – two from long-distance – cut the lead to 21-20 before eventually being down 22-21. A big three from Warren-Newsome put UWM back in the lead on the next possession.
 
Johnson hit a three from the corner a few minutes later and Warren-Newsome followed with a block on one end and a transition reverse lay-in on the other to force a Northern Illinois timeout at 29-24. UWM also netted six in a row to extend its advantage to 37-30 on a three-point play by Prahl with 1:26 on the clock.
 
UWM dominated the boards at 39-25 overall and scored 42 points in the paint.
 
The Panthers are back home for the only stop at UWM Panther Arena in a six-game stretch. That game is Saturday, hosting Montana State in the first FOX Sports Wisconsin telecast of the season. Tip time is set for 3 p.m.