MILWAUKEE – BJ Freeman scored a career-high 28 points and the Milwaukee men's basketball team took control of the contest with a 14-4 scoring run midway through the second half to claim an 80-75 victory over Northern Kentucky Thursday night at UWM Panther Arena.
 
In a much-anticipated matchup between the early league leaders in the Horizon League, the Panthers (12-5, 6-1 Horizon League) built a lead to as many as 15 before the Norse (10-8, 5-2 Horizon League) made it a game.
 
"I thought our guys were resilient," head coach Bart Lundy said. "They are a veteran team that is well-coached and that zone is really tricky. But our defense really held to form on how we had been guarding. And then BJ (Freeman) had a monster game and hit some really big shots."
 
Up by as many as 15 early in the contest, Milwaukee saw its lead get trimmed down to just one point at 58-57. That's when the team went on the decisive scoring run, with Freeman accounting for half of the 14-4 run, including a big three that made it 70-61 and a fastbreak layup on the next possession that capped the run and pushed the lead to 72-61 with 4:24 to play, forcing an NKU timeout.
 
The visitors would get no closer than six until the closing seconds, but a 4-for-6 effort from the free throw line over the final 41 seconds was enough to claim the important win, with Freeman sinking a pair to ice it with 5.8 seconds left on the clock to help send MKE to the top of the standings at 6-1.
 
"We talked about if we get shots, we make shots, so we still have a lot of growth, but I am proud of these guys," Lundy said. "They are young, so these in-game situations are all knew for us every game. I am just proud of them for fighting and being tough and finding a way to win."
 
Freeman went 7-for-11 from the floor for his game-high 28 points, adding a 5-of-8 showing from long distance as well as a perfect 9-for-9 night from the line. He grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists and a pair of blocks.
 
Kentrell Pullian finished with 15 points, including a big layup and three-point play during the decisive scoring run. He added four assists and a team-best eight rebounds.
 
Ahmad Rand joined them in double-figures, finishing with 11 points while grabbing five rebounds. Justin Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six boards, and a career-high eight assists.
 
Trevon Falkner led the Norse with 25 points off the bench. Marques Warrick had 16 and Chris Brandon grabbed 18 rebounds.
 
The Panthers got off to a great start. It was 14-5 early on back-to-back triples from Freeman and an alley-oop from Thomas to Rand brough the crowd to its feet and made it 22-12. The lead grew to as many as 15 at 49-34 late in the first half. Northern Kentucky picked itself up and tightened things up by scoring the first eight points after halftime.
 
Milwaukee shot well, connecting on 55.3 percent (26-of-47) from the floor while making 11 three-pointers. They also held another opponent under 40 percent, this time 38.7 percent (29-of-75).
 
Up next, the homestand continues with a game against Wright State Saturday. Tip time against the Raiders is set for 6 p.m.