MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team fended off a late run by IUPUI and made the final plays it needed to in recording a hard-fought 78-74 victory Friday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Very excited for our guys in a win tonight in a game that had a lot of ups and downs and lead changes," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They fought, even when we weren't playing as well in the first half – and had to deal with coming from behind and close it out in the second half."
 
In a game of runs, the Panthers (6-9, 1-2 Horizon League) used their final key 11-3 stretch to forge ahead, 68-61. The Jaguars (4-12, 0-3 Horizon League) had an answer, using a 13-3 run of their own to come up with the 19^th lead change of the night.
 
DeAndre Abram then hit a huge three-pointer with 1:57 to play to make it 74-74 and a 4-for-4 effort from the free throw line over the final 70 seconds made the 20^th lead change of the contest the most important one and closed out the big home win.
 
Josh Thomas led the way for Milwaukee with 13 points, all coming in the second half. He made 6-of-7 shots in the final 20 minutes.
 
"So many back-and-forth battles with IUPUI in that second half," Baldwin said. "We just made the plays down the stretch when it could have gone either way. I thought our guys really brought it in the second half and I think that is what carried us. Our guys did a great job finishing out this game … very proud of them."
 
Four players finished in double-figures, three of them off the bench. Arturro Bingham netted a season-best 12 points, all coming in a 4-for-5 showing from long range.
 
Te'Jon Lucas chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and a career-high six steals – the most steals for a Panther in almost five years. Darius Roy added 10 points and five assists, while Abram just missed a double-double with 10 rebounds to go with his nine points.
 
Elyjah Gross carried the weight for IUPUI with a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds, adding a game-high six blocks.
 
Nearly half of the lead changes came in one spurt, with the teams trading the lead on nine consecutive possessions following a 50-49 advantage by the Jaguars. A Bingham 3 and Thomas layup then forced an IUPUI timeout at 62-58 with 7:10 to go.
 
That 11-3 MKE run gave them a 68-61 lead with 5:18 left. Following the Jags final scoring spree, Abram knotted the game at 74-all. Despite a tough night from the line, the final – and deciding – points all came from the charity stripe, with C.J. Wilbourn making a pair with 1:10 to go and Roy closing it out after a final stop on defense with less than a second remaining.
 
A first half of scoring runs, Milwaukee used a 12-4 spurt to close out the period and make it a game at the break, with Lucas burying a 3 as time expired to cut the margin to three at 37-34.
 
That overcame a 33-23 hole MKE found itself in, following 11 unanswered by the visitors to force a timeout with just under six minutes remaining. The first big Panther spurt also turned the tables, using a 13-3 run to eventually build a lead. A three by Roy snapped an early 10-0 run by IUPUI at 13-8.
 
Milwaukee got hot from the floor, hitting 4-of-5 to fuel a 13-3 stretch, with Bingham hitting a three to push the team ahead at 15-13 at the 11:05 mark. Courtney Brown Jr., followed with a block on one side and a three of his own at the other to close out the stretch and hand the home side an 18-16 advantage.
 
The Panthers shot 42.6 percent (29-of-68) from the floor, making a dozen 3's. They held the strong-shooting IUPUI squad to 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from long range and lost the rebounding battle by just one at 40-39. The Panthers also rolled up advantages of 22-4 on the fast break and 43-6 by the benches.
 
Up next, the Panthers remain at home, welcoming UIC for a Sunday matinee. Tipoff downtown is scheduled for 1 p.m.