CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Milwaukee men's basketball team found itself in a big deficit early and could never dig out, falling to a Northern Iowa squad that shot over 60 percent from the floor for the game Thursday night at the McLeod Center.
 
The MKE Panthers (1-1) fell behind the UNI Panthers (2-0) from the get-go and every time the team made a run, the home side – ranked No. 7 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major preseason poll – had an answer.
 
"Give them credit," head coach Bart Lundy said. "They have a really good team and he is a really good coach. They outplayed us, so give them a ton of credit. We have got to get better; we have to get guys on the same page. I think we have a group of guys in there that will figure it out and we will be okay. As bad as I feel right now, I have been doing this a long time and you're never as good as you think you are or as bad as you think you are, but we definitely have some things that we need to clean up. As this goes along, this group will get better together, but there were a lot of possessions where we just weren't on the same page."
 
Themus Fulks led the way with 18 points, going 7-of-8 from the free throw line while tying his career-high with seven rebounds.
 
AJ McKee added 16 points, with Jamichael Stillwell joining them in double-figures with 10 points, just missing a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds.
 
All five UNI starters finished in double-figures, led by 19 from Tytan Anderson.
 
"We will learn from this and we will move on," Lundy said. "It's disappointing because of the high expectations but I tell you … we had some of these [tough losses] early last year. I don't feel anything like what I felt last year when it felt like the wheels were falling off. Our wheels haven't fallen off. These guys want to do right and have been doing right. Eventually it will click."
 
A cold start from the floor limited the opening, making just 1-of-7 from the floor while falling behind 13-2 and then 17-5. Early foul trouble also hurt the effort, as both Stillwell and Faizon Fields picked up two fouls within the first six-plus minutes of action.
 
Down by as many as 18 in the opening period, McKee started a charge with a three-pointer, and seven in a row made it 23-12 with 8:42 left. After UNI responded, a Fulks jumper stopped the run at 34-21 and another basket by Fulks whittled the deficit all the way down to nine at 39-30 with 3:26 remaining before intermission.
 
However, UNI had every needed answer in the second half, fending off any Milwaukee runs with big baskets. The Panthers were back within nine again on a pair of Stillwell free throws at 39-30, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way in the 87-68 final.
 
The visiting Panthers finished the night at 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the floor overall, making 72.7 percent (16-of-22) of their free throws. The home side finished at 60.4 percent (32-of-53) overall, making half of its 24 attempts from deep. Milwaukee did win the rebound battle, 34-31.
 
Up next, the Milwaukee stays on the road to battle Longwood next week Wednesday in Virginia. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CT.