CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State sank 11 first-half three-pointers on its way to building a lead at the break and then fended off every push the Milwaukee men's basketball team made after intermission to claim a 78-68 victory Saturday afternoon at the Wolstein Center.
 
The Panthers (9-16, 4-8 Horizon League) cut a 14-point lead by the Vikings (7-19, 2-11 Horizon League) down to just six late, but could not get closer in the road loss.
 
"We didn't cover the three-point line very well in the first half," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We cut that down after halftime, but they made some timely ones in the second half. We have to do a better job covering the three and do a better job defending overall."
 
Darius Roy paced Milwaukee with an all-around game of 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
 
He was joined in double-figures by three teammates. Jake Wright scored all 15 of his points on three's, Vance Johnson added 11 and Amir Allen came through with his first double-double as a Panther, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
 
Tyrone Appleby ended the afternoon with the first triple-double in CSU history, posting 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. In all, 18 of his 19 points came on 3's and all in the first half when the Vikings put together a key scoring run that provided the difference the rest of the way.
 
The deficit was 13 after a timeout early in the second half, but an 8-2 spurt by MKE had it back within eight at 58-50. Just like that, it was back to 13 at 66-53, with back-to-back 3's answering the possible momentum swing. In all, the Vikings went 16-of-33 from long range, just one away from the program record of 17 in a game.
 
A triple by DeAndre Abram and a free throw on the next possession drew Milwaukee within six at 74-68, but that was where the comeback effort would run out of gas.
 
Back-and-forth to start the afternoon, six ties and five lead changes were in the books before Milwaukee edged ahead at 14-13 on a pair of Bobby Arthur-Williams free throws at the 11:20 mark and then made it 16-13 on the next possession.
 
From there, the Vikings found the zone, going on a 22-6 scoring run that included seven made field goals in a row, with a timeout called by the Panthers after CSU had scored 10 of 12 to lead 35-22.
 
Cleveland State kept making 3's, sinking nine of their final 11 attempts from long-distance in the period. Down by 12 at 37-25, the Panthers ripped off six in a row, only to see Appleby answer with some tough shots from long-range, scoring all 18 of his points in the period on 3's.
 
Scoring was at a premium early with both teams starting slowly from the field, as the Panthers took the 10-8 lead on a layup by Roy at the 13:22 mark.
 
For the day, MKE finished with a commanding 49-29 advantage on the boards, but allowed CSU to shoot 50 percent (28-of-56) in the contest.
 
Up next, the Panthers head back home for two games, next taking the court Thursday against Detroit Mercy. Tip time against the Titans is set for 7 p.m. at UWM Panther Arena.