MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee men's basketball team overcame a 13-point deficit to force overtime but could not complete the comeback, falling to IUPUI by a final score of 76-71 Friday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Give our guys credit," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "Towards the end of the first half and the middle of the second half, we battled and fought our way back to get the thing tied up at the end of regulation with an opportunity to win it. Then in overtime, we just didn't have enough juice to complete the comeback."
 
The Panthers (14-15, 7-9 Horizon League) played catch-up against the Jaguars (9-17, 6-9 Horizon League) all night, finally pulling even with the visitors to force overtime. However, Milwaukee's only lead of the extra session – on three Jeremiah Bell free throws to make it 71-70 – was short-lived, with TJ Henderson's 3 with just under a minute to play handing IUPUI the final lead it would not relinquish.
 
"IUPUI did a great job of attacking us on the offensive glass and taking control of the game from that standpoint," Baldwin said. "They initiated all of the effort plays, all of the intensity and all of the toughness that we couldn't match."
 
Bell finished with a season-high 29 points to lead the Panthers, adding four steals and three rebounds.
 
Brett Prahl made his "Senior Night" a memorable one, scoring a career-best 22 points on impressive 9-of-11 shooting, adding seven boards and three blocks in his final home game.
 
Bryce Nze was a monster on the boards, coming up one rebound short of the school record. He finished a point short of another double-double, ending the night with nine points and those 17 rebounds.
 
Evan Hall paced the Jags with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Down by as many as 10 in the second half, Milwaukee was kept at bay by IUPUI, making it a one-possession game on numerous occasions before the Jaguars would get more separation time and time again.
 
A three-point play pushed the deficit at six at 61-55 with just under four minutes to play, but the Panthers would not give up. A Bell 3 and a Prahl layup made it a 61-60 game and forced a timeout.
 
Down again by four, Bell went coast-to-coast to knot the score at 64-all. After forcing a turnover, UWM had a chance in the closing seconds of regulation but the possible winner went off the back iron.
 
It was a strange first half for the Panthers that saw them trail by as many as 13 at 28-15 after the Jaguars went on a huge 15-2 scoring run following a 13-all deadlock.
 
That came after a quick start for Milwaukee, scoring 6 of the first 8 points while making 6 of its first 7 field-goal attempts, despite the game seeing a scoreline of 13-13 at that point.
 
Down 13 just after a timeout to try and stop IUPUI momentum, the Panthers righted the ship. A 7-2 spurt, capped by an Nze dunk, forced a timeout by the visitors. A desperation fadeaway with the shot clock expiring by Bell extended the stretch, which reached 11-2 and got the Panthers back into the contest.
 
Milwaukee finished the night at 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor compared to 45.7 percent (32-of-70) by the visitors. IUPUI tallied a 43-39 edge on the glass and pounded home 48 points in the paint (36 for Milwaukee). Both teams had 10 turnovers.
 
Brock Stull finished the contest with a career-best eight assists.
 
The final home game of the season also served as "Senior Night", with Brett Prahl and Alex Prahl – the only two seniors on the squad – recognized in a pregame ceremony.
 
"It was great to have an opportunity to celebrate their senior night," Baldwin said. "They personify what student-athletes are really about – doing extremely well academically and being great teammates. For me to have the luxury to coach both of them … it's great to be able to coach two wonderful people like that."
 
Up next, the Panthers make one final road trip to complete the regular-season slate. That starts Thursday with a visit to Detroit, with the tip time set for 6 p.m. CST.