INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Milwaukee men's basketball team could not finish off the upset of top-seeded Cleveland State in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals, falling by a final score of 71-65 after a late rally prevented the league tournament bracket from being busted Monday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
"Disappointing end to our year," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "We were right on the cusp of doing some really good things. First of all, I would like to congratulate Cleveland State on advancing. And then just to my guys … every single day we asked so much of them, especially during a pandemic. Our guys have been stellar in the way they've handled themselves. I love our guys – every single one of them. Absolutely proud of them and their effort."

The Panthers (10-12) saw their 2020-21 season come to a close after the Vikings (18-7) stepped up in the closing minutes to claim a spot in the league championship tomorrow night.
 
"We had our opportunities today," Baldwin said. "We fought back from being down early and led at halftime and pushed our lead in the second half. As I told our guys, there were a lot of plays out there on the floor that escaped us. We had some that we had to make and we didn't and Cleveland State did and give them credit. There aren't enough words that I can say about how proud I am of the guys."
 
Josh Thomas scored a career-high 25 points to lead a valiant effort, adding six rebounds and three steals.
 
DeAndre Gholston was also in double-figures, adding 10 points.
 
Te'Jon Lucas contributed nine points, seven assists and four rebounds, with Amir Allen adding eight points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
 
Tre Gomillion led the Vikings with 16 points, including a key dunk and free throw with a minute remaining that gave CSU the lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Panthers led by six at the break and kept CSU at arm's length for the majority of the second half. With the lead down to two at 39-37, Thomas scored back-to-back baskets to push the advantage back to four to stem the tide and Gholston's shot-clock beating three-pointer capped an MKE surge and made it 48-39 with just under 12 to play.
 
From there, it was a battle.
 
Cleveland State was back within one at 58-57, but Lucas found Gholston on a fast break to make it 60-57. Milwaukee was still up, 64-61, with about two minutes to play before the late Viking rally made the difference.
 
Down 14-6 early, The Panthers seemingly took control with a huge scoring run, one that eventually would hit 24-5. A powerful dunk by Allen tied it at 14-14 and Lucas gave his team its first lead at 17-14 on a three the next possession.
 
The lead grew to as many as 11 on a three by Donovan Newby, giving Milwaukee the 30-19 advantage at the time with 2:12 left in the first.
 
For the game, Milwaukee finished at 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the field, with the Vikings at 45.3 percent (24-of-53). MKE grabbed the rebounding edge at 41-36 and also had the large 40-26 advantage on points in the paint.
 
The loss marks the final game for the senior Panther trio of Lucas, Thomas and Allen.