CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Milwaukee men's basketball team scored 55 points in the second half to turn the game around against Chattanooga, but fell by a final score of 88-76 after the comeback effort came up short Tuesday night at McKenzie Arena.
 
The Panthers (7-4) clawed back from an early hole and outscored the Mocs (6-3) after that point, cutting a 27-point second-half deficit all the way to just 11 points down the stretch before running out of time.
 
The MKE offense outscored UTC, 55-44, in the second half, but a 16-2 deficit to start the night was too much to overcome, snapping the Milwaukee win streak at five games.
 
"I told them in the locker room after the game that eventually, we were going to have one of these," head coach Bart Lundy said. "We have played a lot of games in a row. We were bound to get down, but then we get to see what we are made of. We were down 27 and cut it all the way to 11. I am proud of that – we got to see the guys fight tonight and we will just keep growing."
 
Kentrell Pullian led the way with a season-high 24 points, just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. He made 6-of-11 from three-point range, part of a season-high 14 makes from distance for the team on the night.
 
Markeith Browning II continues his recent stretch of great play, going for a career-best 17 points while also just missing a double-double with a career-high nine rebounds. He added four assists and a block.
 
Zach Howell was brilliant off the bench, finishing with an impressive 12 points in 15 minutes – all coming on a 4-of-5 effort from deep.
 
Jake Stephens, a 7-foot center and the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year, put together a game-high 31-point effort that included 13 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks for the Mocs.
 
Following a tough first half in which they shot 31 percent from the floor and trailed by 23 at the break, the Panthers stepped up in the second.
 
"We didn't play with the urgency that I thought we would and for sure didn't share the ball," Lundy said of the start of the game. "We knew we had to move the ball to attack them. It really was our offense … they (Chattanooga) played well, but it was our offense that put us in a hole. Points off turnovers, 20-0 in the first half, you just can't do that."
 
Down 50-23 at one point, the full-court defense created scoring chances that the team converted. It started with a triple from BJ Freeman and then another from Browning. After a layup, foul, and free throw from Justin Thomas, the home team was forced to call a timeout to try and stop the surge.
 
Chattanooga, which won 27 games last year and played in the NCAA Tournament, kept the comeback in check by hitting 3's of its own. The team came into the night second in the nation in 3's made per game at 11.9 and went above-and-beyond, connecting on 13 in the game.
 
Every time MKE was closing the gap, another 3 stretched it out. Milwaukee was back within 15 at 68-53 on a Pullian triple and within 12 after Browning hit one of his own to trim the margin to 12 at 76-64 with 6:34 to go.
 
Howell then played a role with his sharpshooting, seeing a Pullian shot from deep get MKE within 11 at the final media timeout at 82-71. That was as close as the comeback effort would get.
 
The offense finished at 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the floor, connecting on 41.2 percent (14-of-34) from distance. MKE finished with the rebounding edge, 37-35, but was only able to get to the line seven times (6-of-7) due to UTC being called for just six fouls on the night – the fewest for an NCAA DI opponent in school history.

Up next, the team returns home to host North Park Sunday, set for a 2 p.m. tip time at UWM Panther Arena.