DAYTON, Ohio - The Milwaukee men's basketball team had the lead down to just two points early in the second half, but a big scoring run helped Wright State pull away in eventually claiming a 76-65 victory Thursday night at the Nutter Center.
 
The Panthers (8-18, 4-9 Horizon League) trimmed an 11-point deficit down to a bucket before the Raiders (16-9, 7-5 Horizon League) responded with a 12-2 run that helped give them control. Milwaukee would battle back to within five on a pair of occasions, but could get no closer.
 
"Give Coach Nagy credit," Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan said. "They made some adjustments and did a really good job defending us in the post. So that is difficult – when we have been at our best, we get production out of Brett (Prahl) and Bryce (Nze). Their big guys did a really good job of fronting and denying our post touches."
 
Brock Stull led the way with 19 points, sinking 3-of-4 three-pointers. Cody Wichmann connected for 18 points, making 6-of-10 from the field.
 
"He's (Stull) taken the role on as we've asked him to," Jordan said. "He's growing in it every day and learning. I liked his aggressive mindset early. He was looking to attack and looking to score and that was big for us."
 
Jeremiah Bell added seven off the bench; Bryce Nze and Brett Prahl tied for the team lead with five rebounds each.
 
Grant Benzinger was the hero for WSU, scoring 21 points to go along with his career-high 19 rebounds – nearly doubling his former high of 10. He hit numerous big shots – drilling 5-of-6 from three-point range. Mark Alstork added 22 points in 23 minutes.
 
"I thought the key to the game was Grant Benzinger," Jordan said. "He set the tone in the first half and in the second – the 3's he hit to start the half were absolutely huge to get them some separation."
 
The Panthers battled back from an early hole, down 11-2 after committing four early turnovers. Down 19-8 at the 12-minute mark, Milwaukee made a big push when Alstork went to the bench with two fouls.
 
They outscored the Raiders, 19-11, the rest of the half, and nearly had it tied when Stull's heave at the buzzer from behind midcourt rimmed out.
 
A 3 by Wichmann at the 17:48 mark had the lead down to 32-30, but WSU responded. Alstork scored seven in a row and, between him and Benzinger, combined to score the first 22 points of the second half for the Raiders in eventually leading 52-41.
 
An 8-2 UWM spurt made it a 52-46 game, but Benzinger struck again, as his 3 restored the lead to double-figures and an alley-oop slam by Steven Davis extended the lead to 67-52.
 
The Panthers shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the floor for the night, making nine 3's. Wright State made almost half (49.1 percent) of its 53 shots, sinking a dozen three's and out-rebounding UWM by a 34-27 margin.
 
Up next, the Panthers finish off the weekend with a trip down to Highland Heights, taking on Northern Kentucky Saturday evening. Game time is set to start at 6 p.m. CST.