MILWAUKEE – DeAndre Abram topped five players in double figures with 19 points and added a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee men's basketball team to an 81-69 victory over UIC Thursday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (8-11, 3-3 Horizon League) led the Flames (9-10, 3-3 Horizon League) by nine points at the break and were never truly threatened down the stretch. They answered every push from their opponent to pick up the important conference win, using a late scoring run to build the lead back to 10 after it was down to four points with seven minutes to play.
 
"Our defense was the main catalyst for this game and our free throw shooting at the end was really crucial to close it out," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We are excited about the win. We know we have some more games ahead of us, but we'll take this one and get ready for the next one."
 
Abram tallied 17 of his 19 in the first half, helping MKE build a comfortable lead while the defense held UIC to just 23 points on 28.1 percent (9-for-32) shooting over the first 20 minutes. His 16 rebounds were the eighth-most in school history and just two off the program record of 18.
 
"Playing against UIC, we know it's going to be a battle and a tough fight throughout," Baldwin said. "You can credit a lot of guys in this win, but I look at a 13-3 run the latter part of the first half that really propelled us. Guys did a great job."
 
Amir Allen had another solid evening, setting a new high in a Panther uniform for the second game in a row with 16 points. He went 6-of-8 from the floor and converted a pair of key three-point plays down the stretch, pushing the lead back to nine points at both the 9:56 mark and with 6:12 to play.
 
Vance Johnson  added 14 points and six rebounds in just 19 minutes of action, while Bryce Barnes chipped in 13 points and Jake Wright ended the night with 10.
 
Marcus Ottey led UIC with 18 points.
 
The Panthers built the lead to 14 quickly in the second and took advantage of a pair of technical fouls on the Flames to get the advantage to its largest of the contest at 15, leading 41-26 with 17:42 to play.
 
The Flames would not go quietly, scoring eight in a row to climb right back in. Allen's dunk and free throw quieted the run, but Darius Roy went to the bench with his fourth foul of the night with just under 10 minutes to play.
 
Milwaukee had an answer every time. Barnes hit a deep 3 with the shot clock at two to make it 57-48 and Allen's layup and free throw capped five in a row to make it 62-53.
 
Johnson hit a huge three to push the lead back to 10 at 65-55 and the Panthers would go 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 81 seconds to close it out.
 
The first half was highlighted by the defensive effort, with MKE trailing quickly at 8-2 before putting the clamps down. UIC was held without a made three on 10 straight attempts at one point, with that 13-3 run to close out the half helping the Panthers take a lot of momentum into the locker room at the break.
 
The team shot well again, connecting on 49.1 percent (26-of-53) of its shots from the floor overall, hitting 23-of-31 free throws. They also outrebounded UIC, 39-32, and held them below 40 percent overall on the evening (37.7 percent).
 
Up next, the Panthers close out a home weekend when they host IUPUI Saturday. Game time against the Jaguars is set for 6 p.m.