MILWAUKEE – Northern Kentucky connected on 18 three-pointers to lead the way in an 87-73 victory over the Milwaukee men's basketball team Friday night at the Klotsche Center.
 
The Panthers (7-7, 6-6 Horizon League) and Norse (10-8, 8-5 Horizon League) were in a heated back-and-forth battle until midway through the second half, when a large scoring run by the visitors provided enough of a cushion the rest of the way.
 
DeAndre Gholston led the offense with 24 points, tying his season-high with his fourth outing of 20-plus points in the past five games.
 
"It's unfortunate that we came out and played like we did in the second half," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We played probably as good of a first half as you could, 43-43, feeling pretty good going into the half. They started on a 9-0 run in the second half and we just can't give up plays like that to start out the half and expect to be in a game that we fought back to be in."
 
Josh Thomas netted 13, with Te'Jon Lucas finishing with 12 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two blocks despite playing only 22 minutes due to foul trouble. Amir Allen tied his Panther-high with 11 rebounds, adding six points.
 
NKU came into the contest shooting just 28.4 percent on 3's for the season, most recently making seven combined in two games last weekend. The Norse could do no wrong from deep Friday, tying the record for most 3's made by a Milwaukee opponent with the 18, which also finished just one off their own school record.
 
"Throughout the game, their three's were the difference," Baldwin said. "That was something that we were willing to live with, but not uncontested three's and they had a bunch of them early in the game. We have to do a better job tomorrow."
 
Marques Warrick paced the offense with 21 points, with four of the five starters finishing in double-figures. Bryson Langdon added 19, including a 4-of-6 mark from three-point range.
 
They hit three-straight 3's to open the second half, forcing a timeout that seemed to right the ship with Milwaukee. An 8-0 run of its own had the team back within one at 52-51, only to have the Norse take control next.
 
NKU then accounted for a 20-5 run over the next seven minutes that grew the lead to 72-56. It topped out at 17 and MKE could not get back under double-figures the rest of the way.
 
The teams played the first 20 minutes all even at 43-43, with an exciting back-and-forth pace that brought 10 ties and 16 lead changes. Gholston carried the scoring load early, recording 11 of the first 15 MKE points. His three-pointer at the 14:32 mark forced an NKU timeout at 15-11. 
 
The Panthers needed someone to come up big, with Lucas limited to just seven minutes in the first half with early foul trouble. After falling behind, Devon Hancock gave MKE the 26-24 advantage and the see-saw affair really went from there. NKU kept up the rampage from deep, as back-to-back triples forced a Milwaukee timeout down 38-33.  
 
The Panthers pushed right back and it was a new game again at 40-40 on a turnaround in the paint by Allen with the shot clock expiring. It was tied again at intermission. 
 
MKE finished the night at 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the floor, with the Norse a tick higher at 48.5 percent (32-of-66). Milwaukee grabbed the rebound edge at 37-36 and did make 44 percent of its own attempts from three (7-of-16).
 
These two teams wrap up the series tomorrow at 2 p.m.