MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team made a late push to nearly turn its postseason fate around but could not complete the comeback in falling to UIC, 80-69, Tuesday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"We lost to a good team and our guys have nothing to be ashamed of," head coach Pat Baldwin said. "They played their hearts out tonight and I am extremely proud of them. Particularly our seniors that played for us. I am very thankful for them and thankful for all of our guys that played extremely hard this year."
 
The Panthers (10-22) cut a 16-point deficit down to just four against the Flames (14-15), but could get no closer, running out of time in the opening round of the Keeps Horizon League Championship.
 
"We had our opportunities and got off to a great start, but UIC took the lead in the first half and obviously got up on us in the second," Baldwin said. "We made a run and had our opportunities. We cut it down to four and, unfortunately, didn't make the plays we needed to in order to continue to push forward and ultimately get over the top."
 
Jordan Lathon led the way with 19 points off the bench, recording a double-double with 10 rebounds. His effort was helped along by a 4-of-6 showing from three-point range.
 
Joey St. Pierre kept MKE in the game with a big effort early, finishing with his second double-double of the season, posting a season-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end.
 
Markeith Browning II was also a solid addition off the bench, finishing with 11 points, three assists, and three steals. DeAndre Gholston gave the team four in double-figures, adding 10.
 
Kevin Johnson paced the Flames with a game-high 21 points, one of five players to finish the night in double-figures.
 
UIC worked past a fast start from the Panthers and turned the game around with a late surge in the first half. Milwaukee took a 21-17 lead on a three by Lathon at the 6:28 mark before the visitors made their move.
 
UIC proceeded to score 15 of the final 19 points of the period, helped along by an 11-0 run to take control and earn a 32-25 lead at the break.
 
The Flames took their first double-figure lead of the second half on the first possession of the period at 35-25 and eventually built the advantage to as many as 16 at 55-39 with 9:03 to play.
 
From there, MKE made its final mad dash, using an 11-4 run to get right back in it, with St. Pierre getting it back to under 10 at 59-50. Another 9-2 run had MKE back within four at 63-59, with another Lathon 3 really applying pressure and getting the contest down to a two-possession game with four minutes to play.
 
UIC had an answer, however, hitting a pair of free throws and then turning a miscue into another basket to retake momentum.
 
Milwaukee finished the contest at 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from the floor, with UIC converting at 47.3 percent (26-of-55). The Panthers won the rebounding battle at 39-34 and outscored the visitors 34-22 in the paint.
 
The loss concludes the 2021-22 campaign for the Panthers.