INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Evan Hall scored as time expired to help IUPUI escape with a 72-71 victory over the Milwaukee men's basketball team Wednesday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
The Panthers (9-9, 2-3 Horizon League) had just taken the lead on a dunk by Brett Prahl with 6.1 seconds remaining, only to see Hall get the ball out of his hands just before the buzzer to give the Jaguars (5-11, 2-3 Horizon League) the victory.
 
The referees went to the monitor, but after a brief review confirmed the call on the floor.
 
"Obviously, it's frantic once you score and then you have to get back and find bodies and find your matchups and all that," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They made the last play … they got it off within a fingertip to win it."
 
Jeremiah Bell again led the Panthers in scoring, finishing with 21 points. He added four rebounds and three assists.
 
Brock Stull had 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Prahl ended with 10 points and looked to be the last-second hero before Hall found a way.
 
Bryce Nze went 6-of-8 from the floor to finish with 12 points off the bench, adding a team-high seven rebounds.
 
"Our guys did a great job," Baldwin said. "We had the lead, we did all that we needed to do. I thought in the latter part of the second half and towards the end of the game we made some crucial defensive errors and it helped them get the lead."
 
Aaron Brennan led the Jaguars with 22 points.
 
Up by four at the break, Milwaukee would slowly build its lead, eventually going ahead by as many as eight points at the 16:08 mark at 45-37.
 
The Panthers kept the Jaguars at arm's length for quite some time after that, still leading by eight on a Bell layup with 12:30 to go at 51-43.
 
That was when IUPUI made a push, scoring 13 of the next 19 points to make it just a one-point affair at 57-56. Milwaukee would then trail by one, but Bell had the answer, sinking a three-pointer to put UWM back ahead at 62-60 with 6:10 left.
 
Another 3 – one of a season-high 14 by the Jaguars – gave the home team the 65-62 lead and capped what was a 15-5 run.
 
Stull hit a clutch three to knot the contest at 67-67 with just under two minutes to play. A key sequence happened next – the UWM defense nearly forced a shot-clock violation, only to see Ron Patterson hit a very deep three with the shot clock at 1 to again push IUPUI ahead.
 
A dunk by Nze and a defensive stop set the stage for Prahl, only to be undone at the buzzer for the heartbreaking loss.
 
Tied, 27-27, with under four minutes to play in the first period, Stull buried a 3 to make it 30-27 at the 2:29 mark and his jumper in the lane on the next possession forced an IUPUI timeout. A dunk by Prahl in the closing seconds of the period provided the 36-32 edge at intermission.
 
IUPUI started out hot, making all three of its first three attempts – all from long range – to grab a quick 9-3 advantage. Stull's 3 with just under 13 minutes to play had Milwaukee back within a point at 13-12 and a turnaround by Vance Johnson gave UWM its first lead of the period at 14-13.
 
The teams traded 3's right before Milwaukee went on a run. Good defense and strong finishing at the hoop led to a 12-3 run, with Nze's fastbreak dunk off a long feed from Stull capping the stretch and extending the lead to 21-16.
 
Milwaukee shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) for the game, compared to 45.5 percent (25-of-55) for the Jags, who were helped along by 14-of-25 makes from long distance. UWM won the rebounding battle, 34-28, and outscored IUPUI in the paint, 36-20.
 
Up next, the Panthers make it four in a row on the road next, heading to UIC Friday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. against the Flames.