CHICAGO, Ill. – Three players scored in double-figures and the defense of the Milwaukee men's basketball team held UIC to 36 percent shooting from the floor in claiming an impressive 74-57 victory Thursday night at Credit Union 1 Arena.
 
The Panthers (11-13, 6-6 Horizon League) went ahead early and held the Flames (11-14, 6-6 Horizon League) over 12 points below their season scoring average, earning a road victory against a team that had come into the game having won five of its last six.
 
"Our defense was our catalyst tonight and we talk about that all the time, even if the shots aren't falling," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We have to play defense and our guys really did a great job."
 
Darius Roy led the way with 18 points, making four 3's while adding seven assists and four rebounds.
 
Josh Thomas finished with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, doing so in front of a hometown crowd of family and friends that numbered near 50 in his cheering section.
 
Te'Jon Lucas also finished with 15 points, contributing five assists while grabbing four boards. DeAndre Abram added nine points and eight rebounds, helping MKE to a 37-30 advantage on the glass.
 
Tarkus Ferguson led the Flames with 14 points while grabbing six rebounds.
 
Up 12 at the break, the Panthers did not let up, slowly building their advantage the rest of the way.
 
"The first five minutes of the second half were really important to get off to a great start, especially defensively," Baldwin said. "Our guys did a great job maintaining the lead and picking up this win."
 
A C.J. Wilbourn give-and-go with Roy pushed it to 15 for the first time at 42-27. UIC scored six straight but Milwaukee had a quick answer, with a Thomas fastbreak making it 44-33 and a Lucas three pushing the lead back to 14 at 47-33.
 
A dunk and free throw by Abram eventually extended it to 21 at 64-43 at the nine-minute mark and the lead never dipped below 17 the rest of the way.
 
It was a great first half for the Panthers, who continued to build the advantage throughout, hitting its high-water mark at the break at a dozen with a 37-25 lead.
 
The team came out quick, with a ceiling-scraper 3 by Roy giving the visitors an early 7-2 lead. It kept clicking, with the team making seven of its first 12 attempts from the floor – with a Lucas three-pointer forcing a UIC timeout with a 16-7 lead at the 11:56 mark.
 
Some back-and-forth runs followed, with the Flames striking first to get back into it at 18-16. The Panthers then reclaimed momentum with eight in a row, with a Thomas triple giving the team its first double-figure edge at 26-16 with just under eight minutes to play. Another three, this one by Arturro Bingham, made it as at 37-25 with two minutes left.
 
Milwaukee connected on 50 percent of its attempts (27-of-54) on the night, while also hitting 12 three-pointers, which equaled a season-high for the team. The defense was solid again, holding the Flames to 36.2 percent (21-of-58) overall, including just 30 percent on the first half when the Panthers set the tone
 
Up next, the Panthers continue the weekend away with a contest at IUPUI Saturday. Game time is earlier than normal back home, getting underway at 11 a.m. CST.