MILWAUKEE – Drake scored the final 10 points of the first half to take control and fended off any comeback attempts from the Milwaukee basketball team in the second half to claim a 75-61 victory Thursday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (3-7) were unable to take advantage of a quick start against the Bulldogs (6-1), holding their last lead with 8:33 left in the first half.
 
"Disappointing tonight," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "I felt like we started out with a great amount of energy to get us a decent lead and allow our guys to feel good about themselves. I think the bottom line is we gave up some open 3's towards the middle part of the first half that gave them some confidence. That started a run that did us in and we just couldn't recover after that."
 
Darius Roy led the way with 19 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
 
Vance Johnson contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, while DeAndre Abram was also in double-figures with 12 points, also adding eight boards.
 
"Certainly, without question this is a disappointing loss, because we were ready for this game," Baldwin said. "Ultimately, Drake took control and finished off the first half really well and did all the things that they needed to do to keep us at bay. We have to regroup from this; we have to get better."
 
Nick McGlynn led the visitors with 15 points despite playing only 18 minutes due to foul trouble.
 
A layup by Bobby Arthur-Williams with just under five minutes left before intermission trimmed the margin to 24-20, but Drake shifted momentum from there. The visitors closed the half on a 14-2 run that included the final 10 unanswered to head into the locker room up 16.
 
Every time Milwaukee had a push in the second half, Drake had a push back, leading by as many as 24 while never allowing the Panthers to get closer than 14 after intermission, which came in the final minute.
 
Milwaukee came out blazing, getting a three-point play from Amir Allen, a floater in the paint from Roy and a three-pointer from Jake Wright to lead 8-0 just 87 seconds into the contest.
 
MKE still led, 14-10, before falling behind. Two free throws from Abram gave the home team its final lead change of the night at 16-15. Six in a row by Drake forced a timeout and the scoring run to close the period followed closely afterwards.
 
For the game, the Panthers shot 34 percent (18-of-53) from the field, but did hit an impressive 87.5 percent (21-of-24) of their free throws. Drake finished at 43.9 percent (25-of-57) overall, with MKE grabbing the rebounding edge at 38-35.
 
Up next, the Panthers hit the road for a pair of games, starting with the second half of the in-season home-and-home series with North Dakota. That game will be played Sunday, set for a 3 p.m. tip.