FARMVILLE, Va. – Kentrell Pullian led the way with 19 points but the Milwaukee men's basketball team could not overcome a tough night shooting from the floor in falling to Longwood in a physical contest at the Brock Center Wednesday evening.
 
The Panthers (1-2) were making charges and within striking distance all night against the Lancers (3-0), pulling back within five points at 47-42 at the 10:41 mark midway through the second half. That was when the home side would go on a decisive scoring run, pushing the advantage back to 15 with six minutes to play, not falling back under double figures the rest of the night in securing the 76-62 decision.
 
"There are some things that we have to clean up," head coach Bart Lundy said. "Obviously, the turnovers weren't good (MKE had 20), but the way the game was called, it was really physical. I am not upset about this. We can clean up the turnovers. I want to win, but we have to make some shots to win. This is a really good team (Longwood) … I think this is a better team than we played last year. And if we make some shots, it's a different story. And somehow, we have to keep people off the free throw line. They got 28 points on 40 free throws and a lot of that is happening down in the interior and getting our big guys in foul trouble."
 
Pullian's 19 points included a 6-of-8 effort from the free throw line and four rebounds. AJ McKee joined him in double-figure scoring with 16 points.
 
"We have to be a little cleaner with the defense," Lundy said. "If we can continue to guard in half-court and clean some of that stuff up, we are going to be a really good team. But they have to get in the gym and shoot until their arms fall off … we have to make some shots."
 
Johan Nziemi led Longwood with 16 points off the bench, making 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in a game where the home side attempted twice as many (40 to 20) free throws as the visitors.
 
In a game that featured 53 total fouls, the MKE offense came out cold and, after a back-and-forth start in which the Panthers led on a few occasions, the team found itself down nine after a 7-2 spurt to 21-12. Esyah Pippa-White swished a three to get back within five at 22-17 and the deficit was just three after a pair of Pullian free throws with 6:23 remaining at 22-19. A momentum-changing 10-0 run shifted the lead for the Lancers to 35-27 at the break, with Milwaukee connecting on just 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from the field in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Panthers came out and punched hard to start the second, scoring the first few baskets and getting back to a two-possession game on a Pullian three-pointer at 47-42 with half of the period left. The next punch came from Longwood, going on a 12-2 run that essentially decided the outcome.
 
For the game, MKE finished shooting 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the floor overall and under 20 percent from deep, making a tough recipe for the team on the night. The defense was solid, holding the Lancers under 40 percent (.393/22-56) overall and 25 percent (4-of-16) from downtown.
 
Up next, the Panthers wrap up the three-game road trip with a visit to Duquesne next Tuesday. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.