MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team turned the game around with a big first-half scoring run and then held off Oakland in the final minutes to secure a 73-68 victory Saturday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Great win for our guys tonight," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They really fought for this win. We took an early punch from Oakland and then went on a 21-4 run to seemingly take control of the game. Great effort by our guys, they did an unbelievable job just continuing to fight and play hard."
 
The Panthers (9-10, 4-3 Horizon League) trailed the Golden Grizzlies (7-13, 2-5 Horizon League) by 10 early, before using that 21-4 run to take momentum and lead the rest of the way. Free throws in the closing seconds iced it, giving the team its fourth win in the past five games.
 
"At the end, we made the free throws that we needed to and executed all of the things that we had talked about," Baldwin said. "This was a great win for our guys, I am happy for them."
 
Te'Jon Lucas led the way with 20 points, including a pair of free throws with 5.9 seconds left that put the game out of reach. He added seven assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Courtney Brown Jr. netted a season-high 12 points, scoring seven of them in the first-half run that gave Milwaukee the lift it needed. Darius Roy chipped in 11 points and a pair of steals.
 
C.J. Wilbourn added a season-high eight rebounds, tying for the team lead with DeAndre Abram, who added eight points. The two played a big role in MKE out-rebounding Oakland, 41-29, on the night.
 
"We have to protect home court when we get an opportunity and we are looking forward to try and validate a little bit of success at home when we go on the road," Baldwin said. "I want them to enjoy this one and we're going to get back to work on Monday."
 
Xavier Hill-Mais led the visitors with 20 points.
 
Up 35-31 at the break, Brown Jr. hit a three to start the second half, part of the action that saw Milwaukee build the lead to as many as seven. Oakland never went away, creeping back to within two at 50-48.
 
Arturro Bingham hit a big 3 to make it 55-48 with just over nine minutes left, but the Panthers went through a cold spell from the floor, and Hill-Mais had it down to a one-point game at 58-57 on a three-point play.
 
Down to two again at 64-62, Lucas hit a baseline fadeaway to extend the advantage back to four. Oakland would score again, and the next possession, Lucas found Josh Thomas for a reverse layup to again make it four at 68-64. Two Lucas free throws gave the team a 70-66 advantage and a 3-of-4 showing from the line in the final 15.6 seconds put it away.
 
Milwaukee had to have an early answer, seeing Oakland come out fast and use a 14-3 run to lead, 19-9. The answer came next in the form of that 21-4 run and the team would lead by as many as seven in the first half.
 
Milwaukee finished at 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor, while Oakland hit on 50 percent (25-of-50) of its shots. The 18 offensive rebounds helped MKE to a 22-9 advantage on second-chance points and it also won the turnover battle, 15-10.
 
Up next, the Panthers head to Ohio for a two-game weekend set, with the first taking place Thursday at Youngstown State. Tip time against the Penguins is set for 6 p.m. CST.