MILWAUKEE – Josh Thomas led four players in double-figures with 22 points, but a late rally came up short in the closing minute as the Milwaukee men's basketball team fell to Oakland, 85-81, Friday night at the Klotsche Center.
 
"I thought their physicality in the first half really put us on our heels," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They had a lot of offensive rebounds and had 22 points in the paint in the first half was really the storyline."
 
The Panthers (7-11, 6-10 Horizon League) cut a 13-point deficit down to just two points late with a 15-5 run, but a 5-of-6 effort from the free throw line in the final 36 seconds allowed the Golden Grizzlies (10-16, 10-9 Horizon League) to escape with the victory.
 
"We had some chances to convert in transition late in the game and just didn't make the plays that we needed to," Baldwin said. "Great effort by our guys, but just not enough. We have to do more. We have another opportunity tomorrow and we have to be ready to go."
 
Thomas finished 10-for-16 from the floor and had seven rebounds and three assists to add to his string of quality outings. DeAndre Gholston added 16 and Amir Allen nearly recorded a double-double, finishing with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Te'Jon Lucas put together a 14-point/8-assist/6-rebound night that included his 1,000^th career point.
 
Jalen Moore led OU with 20 points, adding nine assists. Daniel Oladapo put together a 17-point/11-rebound double-double.
 
Down three at the break, the Panthers hung around early in the second half. The Golden Grizzlies then put some distance between the teams on the scoreboard, slowing building their advantage to double-figures on a three-pointer to make it 70-58.
 
The lead eventually hit 13 at 75-62 with just over eight minutes remaining before MKE rallied.
 
A Thomas layup and three-pointer switched the momentum and another layup by Thomas had MKE within seven at 77-70. Allen converted a three-point play and a pair of Gholston free throws followed by Allen splitting a pair had it down to just two points at 80-78 with 40 seconds remaining.
 
From there, Moore did enough from the line to keep it out of reach. A Lucas layup with 12 seconds left accounted for his 1,000^th career point, becoming the 28^th player to reach the mark wearing a Panther uniform. (Lucas has scored 689 of his now 1,002 points at Milwaukee).
 
MKE shot 44.9 percent (31-of-69) from the floor, with OU a tick higher at 46.9 percent (30-of-64). Both teams finished with 37 rebounds.
 
The regular season concludes with a rematch between these two teams Saturday, tipping at 4 p.m.