MILWAUKEE - Brett Prahl tied his career high for the second game in a row with 18 points, but a late cold spell sent the Milwaukee men's basketball team to a 68-64 loss to Montana State Saturday afternoon at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Very disappointing loss for us, obviously we talk about trying to protect our home court and doing whatever it takes in order to do that," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "Our guys gave us everything they had, they fought, and when we were down they continue to play hard and continue to play together. Whatever adversity hit them, they continued to come right back."
 
The Panthers (5-3) tied the game up late against the Bobcats (6-3), making the score 64-64 on a layup by Brock Stull with just over two minutes to play.
 
That would be all for Milwaukee, however, missing its final three field goals while also failing to convert on a pair of front-end bonus situations from the free throw line the rest of the way.
 
"But what it falls down on in a game like this, especially when it's late and it's tight, is execution," Baldwin said. "And that's the bottom line. We had opportunities and we didn't execute the way that we wanted to in order to close the gap and hopefully try and take the lead."
 
Prahl finished with those 18 points, adding four rebounds and three blocks. Jeremy Johnson was also in double-figures, finishing with 12 points.
 
Tyler Hall led the way for Montana State with 23 points, including a big three-pointer that gave the visitors the 67-64 lead in the closing minutes.
 
The game went back and forth in the second half. The Panthers battled out of a first-half hole, coming out of the locker room on fire in building their advantage to as many as five on a jumper from just inside the arc by Johnson to make it 39-34.
 
Tied again at 39-39, August Haas' jumper made it 41-39 and helped stem the tide. However, the Bobcats had the contest knotted at 47-all and surged ahead, extending their advantage to as many as five down the stretch on a three that made it 64-59.
 
The Panthers never gave in, with a three by Johnson and that layup by Stull drawing UWM even at 64-64 with 2:14 to play.
 
Hall's big 3 came on the next possession, which could not be answered by the Panthers. A defensive stop got them the ball back, but again misses proved costly.
 
A cold snap in the first half also hurt, with a long scoreless stretch turning a 10-4 lead early on into a 17-12 deficit at one point. The team showed its resilience once again, battling back, with seven straight making it a one-point game in eventually trailing by just a bucket at intermission.
 
For the game, Milwaukee shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52), getting out-rebounded by a slim 36-34 margin. Bryce Nze added a team-high 10 rebounds and three steals. Stull finished with eight points, four rebounds and four assists.
 
Up next, the Panthers start a three-game road trip with a visit to the Sunshine State to battle Jacksonville. That game is set for Dec. 5, with a start time of 6 p.m. CST from Florida.