DAYTON, Ohio – DeAndre Gholston led the way with a season-high 26 points, but a scoring surge down the stretch helped Wright State complete the comeback and claim an 80-75 victory over the Milwaukee men's basketball team Thursday night at the Nutter Center.
 
"I thought our guys played well enough to win this game, but there are some little things that we did – whether it was foul trouble or turnovers – that really turned the tide in this game," head coach Pat Baldwin said.
 
The Panthers (3-9, 1-2 Horizon League) used a substantial scoring run of their own spanning both halves, building a lead of as many as 11 before the Raiders (5-7, 2-1 Horizon League) dug in and fought back.
 
"Basketball is a game of runs," Baldwin said. "We had ours and you just can't let up in those moments. They responded, so give them credit for taking the punch from us. But we certainly have to learn how to finish these types of games."
 
Gholston finished with a stat line of 26 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
 
Josh Thomas was in double-figures with 15, while Joey St. Pierre nearly had another double-double with eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
 
Tanner Holden recorded 22 points/7 rebounds/6 assists to lead WSU.
 
After scoring the final nine points of the first half, Gholston helped the Panthers keep their foot on the gas after intermission. He hit a step-back from the corner, got loose for a fastbreak dunk, and then swished a jumper to cap an overall run of 22-3 that put Milwaukee ahead by a score of 55-44 with just over 16 minutes to play.
 
A timeout helped the Raiders slow the momentum, answering by scoring nine of the next 11 points to get back in it. Thomas stopped that stretch with a layup but Wright State would eventually take the lead at 60-59 to force a timeout, on its way to a run that would eventually hit 20-4 and put the home team ahead 64-59. Gholston then picked up his fourth foul with over five minutes to play, hurting the cause.
 
Thomas hit a jumper with 2:06 remaining that made it a one-possession game at 74-71, but that was as close as it would get, seeing Tim Finke hit a big three to essentially put the game away at 77-71 with 35.2 seconds left.
 
A fast-paced back-and-forth first half saw the Panthers start and finish strong, grabbing a 42-41 edge at the break on a Devon Hancock three from the corner just ahead of the halftime horn. MKE started well, going up 7-3 on its way to a 22-18 advantage at the midway point of the period on a dunk by Moses Bol. Gholston was the early star, netting 14 of the 22 at that point.
 
Then came a WSU push, with a 16-6 run helping them forge ahead, capped by a 7-0 spurt that forced a Panther timeout at 36-29. Thomas then created his own source of momentum, netting six in a row by himself to help the team get back in it, grabbing the lead on that Hancock triple that capped a 9-0 spurt.
 
Overall, WSU outshot the Panthers by a slim margin (.462/.438), while the Panthers won the rebounding battle at 41-35. The team committed just 12 turnovers on the night, but they were key – with the Raiders turning those miscues into a 20-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Up next, Milwaukee steps into 2022 with a matinee affair at Northern Kentucky Saturday. Tip time against the Norse is set for 1 p.m. CST.