DETROIT, Mich. – The Milwaukee men's basketball team battled back from an 11-point second-half deficit to make it a one-possession game on three occasions but could get no closer Saturday afternoon, falling to Detroit Mercy by a final score of 93-84 at Calihan Hall.
 
The Panthers (7-11, 2-3 Horizon League) got a career-high 31 points from DeAndre Abram, but a first-half scoring run by the Titans (8-10, 5-1 Horizon League) reversed a quick Milwaukee start and provided enough separation to keep them on the wrong side of the scoreboard the rest of the contest.
 
"Our guys played hard, they played together, and we are going to win games like this if we continue to play this hard," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We have proven the entire year that our guys are resilient … when we have been down, they have found that next level to try and come back."
 
At 5-1, Detroit Mercy is off to its best Horizon League start since the 1998-99 campaign.
 
Abram added seven rebounds and three steals to his career-high 31 point effort, topping his former mark of 27 set against Wagner in December of 2015. He finished 12-of-19 from the floor, sinking 6-of-13 from three-point range.
 
"Dre was the equalizer in the first half when we had some early foul trouble," Baldwin said. "He played extremely well today. My only wish is that we could have gotten the win on top of a career-night for him."
 
Vance Johnson chipped in 14 points and five rebounds in just 19 minutes. Darius Roy had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Amir Allen added a season-best 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
Antoine Davis, who came into the game as the league's leading scorer (and second in the NCAA) at 27.4 ppg, ended the day with 32 despite being held scoreless for the first 15-plus minutes by the MKE defense. His efforts were helped by a 13-of-15 showing at the free throw line, a product of the season-high 33 fouls that were called on the Panthers.
 
The outburst marked his eighth game of 30-or-more points this season.
 
Down seven at the break, Milwaukee was back within two after scoring 10 of the first 15 points of the period. Jake Wright's 3 at the 16:41 mark made it 47-45, but the Titans had an answer.
 
Back-to-back 3's by Davis were part of a 9-2 spurt, pushing the advantage back to nine at 56-47, with the margin eventually hitting 11 at 60-49. As has been the case all season, the Panthers battled back, scoring seven in a row as part of a 12-4 run of their own, capped by a Roy triple that pulled his team back within three at 64-61.
 
Abram's basket and free throw again made it a one-possession game at 69-66, but Detroit Mercy was up to the task again, scoring eight of the next 11 to get it back to 77-69.
 
Milwaukee was back within four at the 3:44 mark, but would get no closer.
 
Fouls and turnovers hampered another fast start for the Panthers, who scored the first seven points of the afternoon and led quickly, 13-4, when Abram hit a 3 at the 14:32 mark.
 
From there, the Titans scored the next six and the fouls began to pile up. A scoring run for Detroit Mercy helped them tie the game at 18-all and it grew to 13-2 to force a Milwaukee timeout at 25-20, all going on despite the MKE defense holding Davis scoreless until the 4:06 mark of the period.
 
The run topped out at 18-4, forcing another timeout at 30-22. An Abram three and Allen dunk helped right the ship, but the lead held at 42-35 for the Titans at the break, with the Panthers whistled for 16 fouls over the first 20 minutes.
 
Milwaukee shot 51.8 percent (29-of-56) on the day, making 11 three-pointers while also winning the rebounding battle, 31-28. The 17 turnovers were turned into 24 points by UDM, which connected on 50.9 percent (27-of-53) on the afternoon.
 
Up next, the Panthers head back home to continue league play, welcoming UIC to UWM Panther Arena Thursday. Game time against the Flames is set for 7 p.m.