MILWAUKEE - Brock Stull scored 23 points and the Milwaukee men's basketball team nearly overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 5:50 before falling at the buzzer to Western Michigan, 66-63, Friday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (7-6) trailed the Broncos (7-5) by double-figures in the first half as well, but battled back to lead by as many as five in the second half before the visitors used a key scoring run to take control.
 
"Hopefully this is a lesson to us on when we get a lead we need to sustain it, to push further and continue to play hard," Milwaukee head coach Pat Baldwin said. "Give credit to Western Michigan. They played a really good game and when we made mistakes, they took advantage of it. Their players made the right plays at the right times."
 
Stull connected on six three-pointers, adding six rebounds and three assists to his game-high 23 points. Jeremiah Bell joined him in double-figures, finishing with 14 points.
 
Thomas Wilder led WMU with 16 points, adding six boards and five assists.
 
Milwaukee dug in before halftime, overcoming what was an early 10-point deficit at 15-5 to be back within manageable distance at intermission at 29-25.
 
"Disappointing in how we let a lead slip away in the middle of the game, but I told our guys that I am proud of them on how we fought back in the beginning,"  Baldwin said. "We knew that we would have to withstand a storm and some pressure from them. We fought our way back to be down 29-25 at halftime and I felt we were in good position."
 
The team scored the first two baskets of the second, with Bryce Nze's putback on an offensive rebound making it a new game at 29-29.
 
Bell's triple put UWM ahead for the first time at 35-34, and Stull followed with a wild three off a scramble, swishing the attempt as the shot clock went off to extend the advantage to 38-34, capping what was a 19-7 scoring run.
 
"We got going with our three-point shooting and did a great job there to take a lead," Baldwin said. "But there was a stretch there that really doomed us where there was an 18-3 run that really hit us. That was really the difference in the ballgame in that middle stretch of the second half. We tried to come back and make some plays in the end, but Western Michigan made more plays than we did."
 
A layup by Bryce Barnes with 12:31 to play made the score 43-39 in UWM's favor and things were looking good for the Panthers. The Broncos did not go quietly, however, connecting on 6-of-9 from the floor while forcing an uncharacteristic five UWM turnovers to rip off that 18-3 scoring run and flip the script on the game.
 
Western Michigan led, 57-46, with just under six minutes to play but again, Milwaukee went to work. Brock's 4-point play made it 59-54 at the 2:38 mark and Bell's big 3 with 18.1 on the clock had the Panthers within a possession at 63-60. Milwaukee had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but the final attempt was blocked to seal the win for the Broncos.
 
Good defense by Milwaukee kept the first half close. It held WMU to under 40 percent from floor to help neutralize Brett Prahl and Nze being held scoreless with just one field goal attempt between them.
 
WMU jumped out to a quick 14-5 lead, but Milwaukee always had a response all night. Seven in a row trimmed the deficit to 15-12 and a Stull 3 with just under five left in the period made it a one-possession game.
 
The Panthers shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the floor on the night, connecting on 13 three-pointers. Western Michigan finished at 48.1 percent (25-of-52), holding the slim 30-28 rebounding edge. It did convert 11 UWM miscues into a 19-10 advantage in points off turnovers, a key stat on the night.
 
The Panthers open Horizon League play with two more games this month. Up next is a home contest against Oakland December 28, scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.