GREEN BAY, Wis. - Jeremiah Bell scored a season-high 26 points and Brock Stull added a double-double but the Milwaukee men's basketball team fell to Green Bay in overtime, 99-92, Monday night at the Resch Center.
 
The Panthers (9-11, 2-5 Horizon League) held a first-half lead of double-figures against the Phoenix (8-13, 3-5 Horizon League), but also had to battle back from down nine points in the final four minutes to force overtime.
 
"We started out great and had a 10-point lead and Green Bay cut it down," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We fought hard for that one-point lead at half and that's not where I wanted it to be. We have to do a better job in transition, that's the name of the game."
 
Bell's season-best included an impressive shooting night, sinking 10-of-14 from the floor overall, including 5-of-8 from long-distance. He added five rebounds, six assists and three steals.
 
Stull's seventh career double-double consisted of 20 points and 10 boards, adding five assists.
 
Carson Warren-Newsome set a season-high for the second game in a row, finishing with 16 points and four rebounds. Bryce Nze was also in double-figures with 11 points, adding six boards before fouling out.
 
"It came down to transition defense and that's the one thing that killed us late," Baldwin said. "Transition was the name of the game and then we missed Bryce Nze. He was in foul trouble and he makes a big difference for us. We missed his presence on the floor."
 
Sandy Cohen led the Phoenix with a career-high 29 points, adding a double-double with 10 rebounds. Kameron Hankerson helped with a career-best 24 points off the bench.
 
Up a point at intermission, UWM watched Green Bay net 10 in a row to take the lead and the 12-1 run pushed the deficit to 10 at 60-50.
 
As has been the case all season, the resilient Panthers struck back, using a 10-3 spurt of their own to draw within three at 63-60 on a Stull triple at the 12:01 mark. The momentum just as quickly went the other way, with Milwaukee again finding itself down 10 at 77-67, going cold from the field.
 
A Green Bay 3 with just over four minutes pushed the lead back to nine at 80-71 and felt like it may have put the game away.
 
Milwaukee was not done. Bell answered with a three-pointer of his own, Warren-Newsome scored a pair of layups and then Stull's three-pointer capped a 10-0 run and put the Panthers ahead, 81-80, with under two minutes to play.
 
The lead went back-and-forth in the final minute of regulation. Green Bay had the 82-81 lead on a layup, but Nze had the answer to make it 83-82 with 29 seconds remaining. Cohen was fouled and made 1-of-2 to tie the game up for the eighth time on the evening. Stull then had a chance at the buzzer, but his drive to the hoop rimmed out.
 
Back-and-forth in overtime, things went Green Bay's way after the contest was knotted up at 92-92, scoring the final seven points of the night over the final 46 seconds to earn the victory.
 
It was an entertaining first half that saw both teams racing up and down the court. Milwaukee started fast and looked to be running away with it, taking a 27-14 lead on a three-pointer by Bell at the 10:47 mark that spurred the second GB timeout of the opening frame.
 
That stop worked well, with the Phoenix responding with an 8-0 spurt that got them back into the contest as part of a 21-8 run that got them all the way back at 35-35 on a pair of free throws at the 5:05 mark.
 
A big three from Warren-Newsome stemmed the tide at 38-35 before Stull's triple from the wing turned Milwaukee's first deficit back into a lead at 41-40.
 
The Panthers got off to a fast start to help the cause, up 7-2 after the first two minutes and 16-7 before Green Bay was forced to take its first timeout. Bell made 5-of-6 shots to hit the half with 15 points. Cohen balanced that out for the home team by making all 10 of his attempts (4FG/6FT) to get to 17 points.
 
Milwaukee shot 45.3 percent (34-of-75) from the floor, hurt by just 54.2 percent (13-of-24) shooting from the line. Green Bay finished at 45.1 percent (32-of-71).
 
Up next, the Panthers return home for the first time in 2018, hosting Northern Kentucky Jan. 18. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. at UWM Panther Arena.