CHICAGO, Ill. - A cold-shooting first half was too much to overcome as the Milwaukee men's basketball team dropped an 88-73 decision to UIC Friday night at the UIC Pavilion.
 
"Give UIC credit," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They took us out of the things that we wanted to do. When we were preparing for a game like this, we knew it would be about toughness and grit and our fight and desire. It was probably in that opening 7 to 10-minute stretch at the start of the game when they set the tone."
 
The Panthers (9-10, 2-4 Horizon League) cut a 23-point deficit down to 12 against the Flames (8-10, 3-2 Horizon League) down the stretch, but could get no closer in dropping the league road decision.
 
Bryce Nze finished a rebound short of a double-double, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding with 17 points and nine boards.
 
He was joined in double-figures on the night by Jeremiah Bell, Carson Warren-Newsome and Vance Johnson.
 
Bell finished with 16 points, adding three rebounds and three assists. Warren-Newsome scored 14 points, the highest output of his freshman campaign, while adding five rebounds. Johnson chipped in 10 points and recorded seven rebounds.
 
Dikembe Dixson finished with a game-high 22 points for the Flames, including 11 in the opening handful of minutes in the second half when UIC took control for good.
 
It was not a good first half for the Panthers, with cold shooting playing a large role in the 12-point deficit at the break. While the Flames hit almost half of their attempts, UWM managed just 27.6 percent (8-of-29) over the first 20 minutes.
 
Following a back-and-forth fast-paced start up and down the court, UIC held an early 9-7 lead and then really took advantage once the shooting went ice cold. The Panthers hit just one of their next 13 attempts, eventually trailing 22-11 after an 8-0 spurt. It was 31-17 after a UIC alley-oop a few minutes later and the home team led by as many as 16 at 34-18 before going into the half at 38-26.
 
It didn't help that the Flames came out firing next, with a Dixson 3 making it 48-29. He took over from there, scoring 11 of his teams 14 points to extend the advantage to 52-33.
 
Milwaukee dug in and tried to battle back. Warren-Newsome swished a three to make it 67-52 and Stull's triple made it 10 in a row for Milwaukee and got the lead down to 12 at 67-55. But, UIC answered with four in a row and it did not get allow the lead to get closer the rest of the way.
 
"The second half was about finding the guys who wanted to play tough, play with some heart and, no matter what they weren't going to quit," Baldwin said. "I think that is what you saw on the floor."
 
Milwaukee ended the night at 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the floor, while UIC made 51.5 percent (34-of-66) of its attempts on the night.
 
Up next, the Panthers wrap up the five-game road trip at Green Bay Monday. Tip off time is set for 7 p.m. against the Phoenix.
 
"With these rivalry games, you throw out the record and we better come out with some hunger and some fight," Baldwin said. "I know that's who I am and believe that is who my team is and hope to display that on Monday night."