GREEN BAY, Wis. – Te'Jon Lucas scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half and the Milwaukee men's basketball team held on in the final minute to secure a 68-65 victory over Green Bay Saturday afternoon at the Kress Center.
 
"This was a good win against a tough team," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "This team, their record is not indicative of who they are. They are well-coached – Coach Ryan has done a great job with them – and they are tough. So for us to get this win this afternoon is just a testament to our guys and their will."
 
Lucas hit a pair of free throws to put the Panthers (2-1, 1-0 Horizon League) up nine at 68-59 with under 20 seconds to play before a final Phoenix (0-5, 0-1 Horizon League) rally was fended off.
 
"For us it was holding on at the end when we seemingly thought we had it late," Baldwin said. "A good win, we know we have one more against a tough team and just need to get everybody rested up and ready for tomorrow."
 
Lucas put together a solid overall game, leading the team in points (21), rebounds (7), assists (6) and steals (3).
 
"That is a sign of a really good leader and a veteran, when they know there is more than just one half of basketball that you have to play," Baldwin said about Lucas' big second half. "To have someone like Te'Jon that can recognize that and make adjustments that he needs to in order to make all of the plays, is really good that he stepped up and made all of the plays that he did."
 
C.J. Wilbourn was the only other MKE player to net double-figures, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
Josh Jefferson paced GB with 21 points. Amari Davis finished with 18 after a big first half.
 
The teams traded leads early in the second half. Donovan Newby's three-pointer gave MKE the 40-39 advantage with 14:46 on the clock and the Panthers never trailed the rest of the way.
 
The next possession it was Newby again, this time sinking all three of his free throws. Lucas recorded back-to-back layups to cap a 10-2 run, sending the advantage to six at 47-41.
 
A solid stretch for Milwaukee included a big three from Devon Hancock and another layup by Lucas which extended the lead to its biggest of the night at 57-47 with 5:32 to play. Green Bay had one last push, trimming the deficit down to just two at 61-59. It was Lucas again, hitting a leaner at the free throw line while getting fouled. His three-point play with 40.6 showing made it 64-59.
 
A pair of 3's and a late turnover provided some unneeded excitement, but a solid possession of defense for the final 3.6 seconds closed it out.
 
The Panthers held a slim 28-27 lead at the break, finally hitting their first three of the period late when Courtney Brown Jr. connected with 1:05 remaining for the final field goal of the half either way.
 
Milwaukee did jump ahead with a quick start, taking leads of 6-2 and 10-4 before Davis took over the contest. The reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year went on a tear, scoring all 15 points of the Phoenix 15-14 run that put the home team ahead, 19-14.
 
In under five minutes of game time, Davis connected on six consecutive shots. He got a dunk to start the streak and finished with a three – one of a trio he made from long range in that span.
 
MKE had an answer. A Wilbourn layup made it 19-19 and Lucas' split of a pair of free throws made it 20-19 and capped six consecutive. The teams traded the lead a handful of times the rest of the period.
 
A solid shooting night saw MKE finish at 47.2 percent (25-of-53) for the night, while holding the Phoenix to under 40 percent (39.1) for the game.
 
These two teams square off for the rematch tomorrow at 1 p.m.