DAYTON, Ohio – The Milwaukee men's basketball team held Wright State to 34 percent shooting from the field but came up empty on a pair of late chances to win or send the game to overtime in a tough 56-54 loss to Wright State Thursday night at the Nutter Center.
 
"They fought, they played extremely hard tonight," head coach Pat Baldwin said about his team. "All you can ask for in playing against a team like this – that is really well-coached, in an environment like this – is to give yourself a chance to win. And we put ourselves in that position and had a chance to make a three to win it."
 
The Panthers (9-12, 4-4 Horizon League) led the Raiders (11-10, 5-3 Horizon League) for a large portion of the night, overcoming a big second-half scoring run to make it a game down the stretch before eventually tying the score with 2:37 to play.
 
Darius Roy led Milwaukee with 15 points, adding six rebounds and four assists.
 
Roy was one of three players to finish in double-figures, joined by Jake Wright (14) and Amir Allen (12).
 
Loudon Love led the way for WSU with 21 points and 12 boards.
 
Roy's short jumper in the lane knotted things at 54-all, helping Milwaukee overcome what was an eight-point second-half deficit at the 12-minute mark.
 
From the late tie, defense was the star both ways, with Milwaukee holding the Raiders without a made field goal. WSU eventually inched ahead, 56-54, after splitting a pair of free throws on two occasions.
 
A final miss from the stripe left 9.4 seconds for the Panthers following a timeout. The team went for the win, but strong WSU defensive effort forced a miss with a block and a final putback came up empty as the Raiders escaped with the victory.
 
"We drew up a play to try and win the game with a three," Baldwin said. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the shot up on the glass and that was our demise tonight. Our defensive effort was good but I think we put them at the line at inopportune times. Because of our defense, we still had a chance to win the game."
 
The biggest difference came after MKE went ahead in the second half at 34-30. From there, the home team scored 12 straight while the Panthers went cold from the floor, eventually finding themselves down, 42-34, before rallying to make it a new game late.
 
A defensive battle both ways the first 20 minutes, MKE limited its opponent to 31 percent shooting, which included just three makes on 16 attempts from three-point range in the period.
 
Both teams took a bit to knock off the rust, with Milwaukee edging ahead at 7-6 before eventually building that into a 19-13 advantage on a three from the wing by DeAndre Abram at the 8:07 mark.
 
WSU was back within one at 19-18, answered by a bucket from Bobby Arthur-Williams, who had six big points in the first, and a layup from Allen to extend the lead back to five. The Raiders then scored seven of the final nine points of the half to force the 25-25 tie heading into the locker room.
 
The Panthers shot just under 40 percent (20-for-52), with the 34 percent (18-for-53) defensive effort their best of the season and also the third game in a row holding an opponent below 40 percent. WSU connected on just five of 27 three-pointers.
 
Up next, the team makes the drive to Highland Heights, Ky., for a Saturday tilt at Northern Kentucky. Panthers and the Norse tip off at 6 p.m. CST.