INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – DeAndre Gholston scored a game-high 20 points and the Milwaukee men's basketball team used a large scoring run spanning both halves to claim a 66-54 victory over IUPUI Thursday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
The Panthers (10-20, 8-13 Horizon League) started slowly but used a 25-5 scoring spree starting three minutes before intermission to take control against the Jaguars (3-23, 1-14 Horizon League) in building a lead of as many as 16 points.
 
"Turnovers and offensive rebounds from their side really kept us at bay and didn't allow us to get off to the great start that we wanted," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "But we settled down and made the plays that we needed to towards the end of the first half and into the start of the second."
 
Gholston was big all night, hitting 4-of-7 from downtown while adding eight rebounds and five assists. After the Jags used a late push to get back with seven, Gholston helped put the game away, capped by a 3-pointer with 1:18 left that made it 60-48.
 
Jasin Sinani was also in double-figures, scoring a season-high 10 points. He made all four of his field goals, including a pair of swishes from deep (a third was changed from a 3 to a 2 after review).
 
"Very proud of Jasin," Baldwin said. "We talked to him about being aggressive and when his plays were out there, to make them. And he certainly did that tonight."
 
Joey St. Pierre grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and just missed a double-double with eight points. He added two blocks as well. The Panthers shot well (56.5 percent) on offense while also recording another strong defensive effort (32.8 percent). B.J. Maxwell led the Jags with 14 points.
 
After closing the first on an 8-1 run, the Panthers scored the first seven of the second, with a three from Devon Hancock pushing the run to 15-1 and giving MKE its first double-digit lead at 35-25.
 
St. Pierre scored off a layup to make the run 20-3 and Vin Baker Jr. caped the stretch at its largest, making one of two free throws to extend the lead to its biggest at 45-29 with 12:45 remaining.
 
IUPUI gave a final charge, ripping off a 13-4 stretch that made it 51-44 and forced a Milwaukee timeout. The Panthers had the decisive answer, with Gholston's big triple pitting the game away at 60-48 with 78 seconds left.
 
"It does feel good," Baldwin said about the win. "Any time you step on the floor your goal is to win. Tonight our guys took care of their business and now we have one more regular season game to get ready for next."
 
The Panthers took a bit to warm up, with an early pair of Sinani three-pointers helping overcome a 7-0 start to the game and get the Panthers back within one at 11-10. The Jaguars forced the pace and moved ahead, with seven points early from Chuks Isitua helping the home team build a 20-14 advantage.
 
A quick six from Josh Thomas off the bench helped turn things around. Gholston went for back-to-back from downtown to push MKE ahead, 26-24, then hitting Baker Jr. for a layup on the next possession to help Milwaukee to eight of the final nine points of the period and a 28-25 lead at intermission, shooting over 50 percent for the period.
 
In addition to the 56.5 percent (26-of-46) field-goal shooting, the Panthers won the rebounding battle, 35-27, while also outscoring IUPUI in the paint, 26-18.
 
Up next, the regular season concludes Saturday evening at UIC, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. against the Flames.