DAYTON, Ohio – Wright State used a quick scoring burst to open up a close game down the stretch and kept the Milwaukee men's basketball team at arm's length the rest of the way in an 82-70 victory Monday night at the Nutter Center.
 
"We really fought against a very good Wright State team tonight," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We battled back in the first half to cut the lead to six going into the break. We thought that was a positive considering how well they shot the ball."
 
The Panthers (5-9, 0-2 Horizon League) trailed the Raiders (11-3, 2-0 Horizon League) by as little as four early in the second half and were still within five points with nine minutes to play. A quick 8-0 WSU spurt gave them some breathing room and then never let it get closer than 10 points the rest of the evening.
 
"We left a lot of plays on the table in the second half, which didn't allow us to cut into their lead more," Baldwin said. "We had a chance to cut a four-point lead to two, but missed two free throws. We had other plays and crucial turnovers that impacted our ability to come back."
 
A balanced offensive showing saw Darius Roy lead the way with 13 points. DeAndre Abram had 12 and a team-high six rebounds, with Te'Jon Lucas contributing 11 points, five boards and a team-high six assists.
 
Josh Thomas rounded out the list of players in double-figures with 10, with Courtney Brown Jr., adding eight points and three rebounds in just 14 minutes off the bench.
 
"Give credit to Wright State," Baldwin said. "They made the plays in order to win. We aspire to be at that level and win road games as tough as these. Our guys will continue to fight and I see us getting better daily."
 
Bill Wampler led the home team with 17 points, much coming on a 5-of-6 showing from three-point range. Loudon Love had 16 points and nine rebounds.
 
With the deficit just four at 56-52, an 8-1 WSU scoring run forced a timeout at the 13:31 mark. The Panthers had the answer and ripped off six in a row of their own to get back within five at 64-59 on a layup by Abram. It was five again at 66-61, and at that point, the Raiders came up with the decisive scoring run that essentially put the game away.
 
It was quite the entertaining first half, with 11 lead changes overall and up-and-down action throughout the opening 20 minutes. The Panthers came out quick and grabbed a 5-2 advantage, which disappeared quickly when WSU netted seven in a row.
 
Just as quickly, MKE responded, with a 7-2 spurt capped by a Lucas fastbreak making it 12-11 at the 13:09 mark.
 
The Raiders started hitting from 3 and nearly couldn't miss, making 8-of-9 at one point that kept them ahead. WSU led 15-14 and the fun began, with the two teams trading the lead on the next eight straight possessions. The 3's kept falling and helped the Raiders eventually build a 15-point advantage at 43-28, keyed by a 16-2 scoring run.
 
Milwaukee held tough, with a dunk and free throw by Abram making it 45-35 and Abram's emphatic putback-dunk at the halftime horn making it 52-46, seeing Milwaukee score 18 of the final 27 points of the period.
 
MKE hit nearly half its field-goal attempts overall, finishing at 48.2 percent (27-of-56). Wright State finished at 53.6 percent (30-of-56), while winning the rebound battle by a margin of 37-32.
 
Up next, the Panthers head back home to continue conference action, welcoming IUPUI to UWM Panther Arena Friday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.