MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team used a 15-2 scoring run to take a second-half lead, but came up just short of knocking off first-place Wright State by a final score of 65-61 Friday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"It's disappointing because you go into this game and you want to establish yourself as one of those teams in this league that wants to try to continue to move up and get better and show it with wins," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "And you have an opportunity right in front of you with arguably the best team – they are in first place right now – and it's an opportunity for us to make a mark."
 
The Panthers (10-12, 5-5 Horizon League) held the Raiders (19-4, 9-1 Horizon League) to under 40 percent shooting from the field and over 16 points below their scoring average coming into play, but couldn't pull it out in the final minutes.
 
"We had our chances; we fought back and took the lead but gave it right back," Baldwin said. "They (Wright State) weathered the storm as much as we fought back and took the lead and we just didn't have enough in the end and didn't make the plays. We had some execution errors down the stretch that really hurt."
 
Te'Jon Lucas led the way with 18 points, adding six rebounds and four assists.
 
He was joined in double-figures by Josh Thomas, who netted 11 on 5-of-7 shooting while also grabbing five rebounds.
 
Bill Wampler paced WSU with 19 points. Loudon Love added a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds despite getting ejected following a flagrant foul with just under nine minutes to play.
 
Down seven at half and my as many as 11 in the second period, the Panthers stormed back once the deficit reached 43-32.
 
Wil Sessoms and Tyler Behrendt scored baskets to start the run and Courtney Brown Jr.'s free throws following the Love ejection made it 43-38. Behrendt followed with a big 3 to pull MKE within a basket and Lucas scored the next two field goals to give the Panthers the lead at 47-45 with about seven minutes to play, capping that 15-2 spree.
 
The pace got hectic from there, with seven ties and seven lead changes following the next few minutes, until Wright State was again able to take control with six points in a row that gave it a 61-57 advantage at the 2:12 mark. The Panthers had two shots to tie in the closing minute, but a 4-of-6 showing from the free throw line following the misses helped WSU escape with the win.
 
Both teams came out slow, with MKE taking a 6-3 early advantage behind a pair of buckets by Lucas. A great defensive effort early, the Panthers were in the passing lanes, causing all kinds of trouble for Wright State, but were unable to take advantage of their opportunities on the offensive side of the ball.
 
A 6-0 spurt gave Milwaukee a 16-12 advantage on a layup by Thomas at the 8:52 mark, but a cold spell followed. That allowed the Raiders a big 12-0 run, building an advantage of 26-19 at the break.
 
The defense held the visitors to 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the floor on the night, allowing just two made 3's on 22 tries (18.2%).
 
Up next, the weekend closes with a Sunday matinee at home against Northern Kentucky, with basketball fans able to catch the Panthers in plenty of time before the big football game that evening. Tip time against the Norse is set for 1 p.m.