MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team led by as many as 12 points in the first half, only to see Northern Kentucky shoot nearly 60 percent after halftime and slowly pull away for a 65-55 victory Thursday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Definitely a tale of two halves," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "I think our guys came out and played really tough and really hard and smart in the first half. Then, unfortunately, as the game got going along in the second half, we just didn't make enough plays."
 
The Panthers (9-21, 4-13 Horizon League) led the Norse (22-8, 12-5 Horizon League) well past intermission before running out of steam. Milwaukee was still within one at 48-47, but a big scoring run by the visitors followed to give them control. The deficit hit 10 at the four-minute mark and MKE could get no closer.
 
Vance Johnson led the way with 13 points, adding seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Jake Wright continued his climb towards the 1,000-career point milestone, chipping in 10 to end the evening at 997 for his collegiate career.
 
"We had some guys that stepped up in place of some guys – and that was great to see," Baldwin said. "But in a game like this, when you are leading, you have to find a way to close these out. Now we have to regroup and get ready for another tough team coming in here Saturday."
 
Tyler Behrendt took advantage of a season-high 21 minutes off the bench, scoring seven points, grabbing three boards and adding two assists – all career-highs.
 
"Ty came in and he did a great job," Baldwin said. "I commend him for being ready. Because that is all that you can ask anybody."
 
Jalen Tate led NKU with 18 points. Both team's leading scorers missed the entire game – Darius Roy with injury and Drew McDonald as a coach's decision despite coming in as the second-leading scorer in the league at 19.6 points-per-game.
 
The Panthers led by six at the break and held onto the advantage for the opening minutes of the second. The Norse finally found the answer, using an 8-0 run to take the lead they would never relinquish at 42-41 with just under 13 minutes to play.
 
That scoring run grew to 12-0, but Johnson converted on back-to-back possessions to get MKE back in the game at 48-47 with 8:28 remaining.
 
From there it was all Northern Kentucky, rolling up a 15-3 response to put the game away.
 
Great defense led the way for the Panthers in the first half and the team led by as many as 12 points in the opening frame.
 
A big scoring run provided the difference. Back-and-forth to start, a Jamar Madge floater put Milwaukee back ahead with the seventh lead change of the night at 16-15.
 
While the defense held NKU to one make in 11 attempts, the offense went at it, putting together an 18-3 run that built the lead to its largest at 30-18 on a three-point play from Bobby Arthur-Williams at the 5:08 mark.
 
The final contest of the season for the Panthers is scheduled for Saturday, welcoming Wright State to UWM Panther Arena. Tip time is slated for 6 p.m.