ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Milwaukee men's basketball team held a late lead but was unable to close it out, falling to Oakland Saturday afternoon at the O'rena by a final score of 72-70.
 
The Panthers (15-16, 8-10 Horizon League) led by five with just under four minutes to play, but could not hold off the Golden Grizzlies (18-13, 10-8 Horizon League) in the closing minutes. Led by Kendrick Nunn, Oakland was able to score nine of the final 11 points of the contest to escape with the home victory.
 
Despite the loss, Milwaukee finishes the regular season with seven more victories than at this time last season while also placing four spots higher in the final Horizon League standings.
 
"We didn't get the stops we needed to on the defensive end," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We made some crucial mistakes on the defensive side. It wasn't about the offense; I thought we got some really good looks. This is one that we wish we could have some moments back."
 
Brock Stull led the offense with 19 points, one of four players to reach double-figures. Bryce Nze added 11 points and six boards, with Jeremiah Bell and Vance Johnson each finishing with 10.
 
"Brock was really good for us tonight and we got him to some spots and he was a lot more aggressive than he had been," Baldwin said. "And that's the Brock we need to see."
 
Nunn, the NCAA's second-leading scorer coming in at 26.0 points a game and 48 hours removed from a career-high 39 Thursday, finished with 37 points, including consecutive 3's and a layup in the deciding 9-2 run to close game out.
 
Nick Daniels added a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists.
 
The matchup featured 10 lead changes. The ninth seemed to have things headed the Panthers way, with Carson Warren-Newsome burying back-to-back three-pointers and a patented Stull turnaround in the lane to make it 68-63 at the 3:58 mark.
 
Nunn hit a three from the top and then, on the next possession, drilled another triple from the corner to give OU the 69-68 lead. Following a UWM miss and another bucket by Nunn, the Panthers were able to get back within one with seconds left on a putback by Nze.
 
The team had the ball and a timeout with 2.0 left on the clock and a chance for the win or tie, but a desperation pass was picked off and the clock ran out.
 
Both teams shot well for the majority of the first half before cooling late. Four ties and seven lead changes took place in the first 20 minutes, with a 6-0 spurt just before the break flipping the script and handing Milwaukee a 36-31 lead at halftime.
 
Back-and-forth from the start, the contest was knotted at 21-21 on a Stull three-pointer at the 9:17 mark. That was the start of a 7-0 run for the squad, with the lead eventually growing to 30-25 on a reverse layup from Nze at the 4:36 mark.
 
Oakland made a push, led by Nunn's 17 in the first, to go back ahead, but Stull hit again and the Panthers held Oakland without a point for the final 3:16 before the horn.
 
Milwaukee finished the afternoon at 43.3 percent (26-of-60) from the floor, making 10 three's. Oakland was at 48.0 percent (24-of-50), while rebounds were even at 31-all.
 
The postseason gets underway next, as the Panthers return to Michigan to partake in "Motor City Madness". One season removed from an unprecedented run to the title game as the No. 10 seed, the Panthers start the 2018 version on Sunday, March 4, as the No. 6 seed. Official matchups and game times will be announced at the conclusion of games played on Sunday.
 
"Now you turn a chapter and it's tournament time," Baldwin said. "I told our group – and I told them from day one when I first met with them – I told them the team that is the most connected will be the team that wins the tournament. You can have the best players, but if you are not connected, you are not going to win. That's the message that I gave to our guys: let's regroup, re-energize, reconnect and everyone throw themselves into the games so that we give ourselves a chance to cut down the nets."