INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Te'Jon Lucas tied his career-high with 31 points and hit the game-winner with 7.0 seconds left on the clock in overtime to help the Milwaukee men's basketball team prevail, 80-79, over IUPUI Saturday afternoon at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
Lucas took over down the stretch for the Panthers (12-13, 7-6 Horizon League), who led the Jaguars (6-20, 2-11 Horizon League) by as many as 13 in the second half before the game ended up in overtime.
 
"He was spectacular the entire game, finishing with a double-double," head coach Pat Baldwin said about Lucas. "He was really good and the other guys were great as well. C.J. (C.J. Wilbourn) and Courtney (Courtney Brown Jr.) had 19 between the two of them and Dre (DeAndre Abram) had a double-double as well. Great win in a tough place to play."
 
Facing foul trouble, Lucas came back in with 7:30 to play and the contest tied at 60. He came down and hit a huge three-pointer the next possession, getting fouled and converting the free throw for the four-point play with seven minutes to go.
 
He ended up playing the rest of the afternoon with those four fouls, scoring 16 of his 31 in that 12 and a half minute span – including what turned into the eventual game-winner with 7.0 seconds on the clock. With the game tied, 78-78, he drove down the left side of the lane, sidestepped the defense and banked it in off the glass for the go-ahead bucket.
 
Things got interesting from there. DeAndre Abram blocked a potential tying layup out of bounds and, after a review, left 0.9 seconds on the clock. A foul was called on the ensuing play, sending IUPUI to the line with a chance to extend the day into double-overtime with 0.5 left. After a made first attempt, a miss on the second ended the day and sent the Panthers home a winner.
 
It was another big road victory for Milwaukee, which overcame playing shorthanded due to illness, as well as foul trouble and a season-high 24 turnovers.
 
"It talks a lot about our guys and their toughness," Baldwin said. "They were really good in handling that and managed to win this game. I am happy with our guys and very encouraged with their toughness and how we fought through this one."
 
Lucas added a career-high 12 rebounds for his second career double-double, finishing 9-of-19 from the floor (4-7 3FG) and 9-of-11 from the line while adding five assists.
 
Abram finished with his third double-double of the season, grabbing 13 rebounds to go along with 10 points off the bench. Courtney Brown Jr. chipped in 11 points.
 
Jaylen Minnett (26 points) and Marcus Burk (23 points) again led the IUPUI offense, but it took 50 shot attempts (13-for-50) to get there while dealing with the MKE defense.
 
The second half was filled with scoring runs following Milwaukee taking its largest lead of the game at 49-36 on a Josh Thomas layup. The home team made a 12-4 run next to get back into it, pulling within four at 53-49.
 
A Lucas leaner and five points from Harrison Henderson stemmed the tide, helping MKE regain a 10-point cushion at 60-50. The Jags were not done there, ripping off 10 straight for the 60-60 deadlock.
 
The Panthers again had the answer; with Lucas' 4-point play sparking an 11-3 run that put them ahead, 71-63. IUPUI didn't hesitate, using a second 10-0 spurt to go ahead by two at 73-71 before Lucas would knot things by splitting back-to-back trips to the free throw line.
 
Milwaukee once again jumped out early and continued to build. A three-pointer from Brown Jr. made it 7-3 quickly and the lead grew to 12-7 on another triple, this time from Lucas, as MKE made three of its first four from long-distance.
 
Another Lucas three made it 20-11 and forced an IUPUI timeout with 10:52 remaining in the half and the advantage grew to 10 for the first time on a Roy jumper at 27-17. Once the team had its biggest edge at 35-24 at the 4:24 mark, it hovered right there until the break at 43-33.
 
The Panthers ended the contest at 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the floor, sinking nine 3's on the day while also out-rebounding the Jaguars by a count of 49-41. The defense limited IUPUI to 32.9 percent (23-of-70), with MKE the 28-20 advantage in the paint.
 
Up next, the Panthers take a break from the road with a home game against Green Bay Saturday. The 15-year anniversary of the "Sweet 16" team also takes place that day, with a commemorative poster giveaway scheduled. Tip time is 6 p.m.