HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY. - The Milwaukee men's basketball team had a shot to win the game in the closing seconds, but saw its three-point attempt rim out, allowing Northern Kentucky to escape with a 54-52 victory Thursday night at BB&T Arena.
 
The Panthers (13-14, 6-8 Horizon League) led midway through the second half, only to see a 12-2 scoring run by the Norse (18-7, 11-2 Horizon League) appear to turn the game. Never one to give in, Milwaukee scored 10 of the final 14 points of the night and had a crack to win it at the buzzer.
 
"Our guys have great fortitude," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They have a will, they fight and I think they are embodying everything that I am and want them to be. We just have to learn from this and we have another one Saturday that we have to get."
 
Jeremiah Bell got a good look from the top of the key but the potential winner rimmed out, and then went off the backboard before falling off the rim a second time.
 
"The ball was in the hands of the guy we wanted at the end," Baldwin said. "We drew up a play for him. He got off as good of a shot as what we could have drawn up at the end and it just didn't go in."
 
Bell finished with 12 points, adding four rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
Bryce Barnes led the way with 13 points, collecting a career-high seven rebounds. Brock Stull ended the night with 11 points as Milwaukee held the Norse to their lowest point total of the season.
 
"I think we have done a good job, especially on the defensive end," Baldwin said of the Panthers since they last played NKU. "This was a different game. We are defending a lot better, we are playing a little better as a team but we just need to make some of the little plays in order to make this a different story tonight."
 
Drew McDonald paced Northern Kentucky – who entered the night ranked No. 21 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll – with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Vance Johnson chipped in seven points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which also got nine rebounds from Bryce Nze, who saw his double-double streak end at three games after early foul trouble.
 
Coming out of the locker room, Bell had a three-point play and then a three-pointer to net six in a row, putting the Panthers ahead, 31-30, at the 17:15 mark.
 
A Stull swished 3 from the wing extended the lead to 36-32, capping a 12-5 stretch and giving UWM its largest lead of the second half. Tied again at 36-all, Stull again came through with a triple that made it 39-36.
 
From there it was all NKU. A deep 3-pointer from Tyler Sharpe made it 9-2 Norse and his three on the next possession capped that 12-2 run and made the score 50-42.
 
Milwaukee would not let it get away. A Barnes 3 at the 2:01 mark capped an 8-2 spurt and brought the crowd to its feet. After a final defensive stand, the Panthers had the ball for the final possession, only to see Bell's potential winner come up just short and a follow-up at the buzzer get blocked, allowing the home team to improve to 22-4 at home since the start of last season.
 
The Panthers trailed by just three at the break at 27-24, despite cold shooting from deep (1-of-11). The pace of the half favored Milwaukee, holding an NKU squad averaging almost 80 points to just 27 over the first 20 minutes.
 
The Panthers came out quickly, doubling-up the Norse at 10-5 early. NKU pushed back, using a 9-2 run to take the 14-12 lead. A tough layup by Johnson had the game knotted at 16-all at the 9:10 mark, but five in a row gave the home team its biggest lead of the first half at 21-16.
 
Milwaukee kept up the pressure and actually had five possessions over the final four minutes where a basket would have given it the lead. Untimely turnovers hurt and the deficit was three at intermission.
 
On the night, Milwaukee shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59), making 25 percent (6-of-24) from long-range. The defense held NKU to 41.2 percent (21-of-51), winning the rebounding battle at 36-31.
 
Up next, the team travels to Dayton, Ohio next, taking on Wright State Saturday. The Raiders remain tied for first place at 11-2 after holding off Green Bay Thursday. Tip time is set for 6 p.m. CST.