MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team nearly erased a 14-point second-half deficit but saw a final attempt to send the contest to overtime denied in the closing seconds in falling to Robert Morris, 81-79, Sunday afternoon at UWM Panther Arena.
 
"Give Robert Morris a ton of credit," head coach Bart Lundy said. "They were tougher, more physical, more prepared and the better-coached team today. He [RMU coach Andrew Toole] has done an unbelievable job with that group. They have multiple weapons that present a real challenge to guard."
 
The Panthers (13-7, 6-3 Horizon League) came up firing against the Colonials (13-7, 5-4 Horizon League) after falling behind in the second half, 55-41. A scoring run of 14-2 made it a one-possession game at 57-55 and then down to one at 72-71 later in the period. The team had a chance to tie or win in the closing seconds but a block thwarted the first opportunity and the final chance with 0.6 left on the clock came up empty. The decision marked MKE's first home loss this season (now 9-1), snapping what was a 12-game home winning streak dating back to last winter.
 
"I didn't think we had our usual edge – we got outrebounded in the first half, lost pretty much every 50-50 ball," Lundy said. "I thought our energy and effort was better in the second half, but you can't turn the ball over 14 times (after halftime). You know, turn it over 14 times and you're trying to make a comeback – and we missed some key free throws at crucial times – if you are going to come out of a hole you can't do those two things. Congrats to Robert Morris … they deserved the win today – they were the better team."
 
Jamichael Stillwell carried the offense, setting a new career-high with his 26-point outing. He went 10-of-16 from the field, adding seven rebounds, a pair of steals, and a block to his final statline.
 
Themus Fulks and Erik Pratt both had 13 points, with Fulks going 7-of-8 from the line and adding five assists. Pratt grabbed five rebounds and dished out a trio of assists.
 
Kentrell Pullian was also in double-figures with 12, making 5-of-8 shots from the floor.
 
All five RMU starters scored in double-figures, led by 15 apiece from Josh Omojafo and Kam Woods. Amarian Dickerson came up with the big block to close out the win in the closing seconds.
 
Down seven at the break, Stillwell hit a three to cut the gap to 45-41, only to see the Colonials respond with 10 unanswered to push their lead to 55-41.
 
Another nice scoring run by the Panthers made it a one-possession game on the dunk by John Lovelace Jr. at 57-55, but the visitors responded with a 10-1 spurt to flip momentum once again.
 
Nine straight from the MKE offense made it a two-point game at 69-67 on a layup from Faizon Fields with 3:16 remining, and Stillwell's three-point play had the crowd on its feet at 72-71, but the home side ran out of time the rest of the way.
 
Milwaukee shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the floor overall, connecting on 40 percent (6-of-15) from deep and 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the line. The rebound advantage was just 35-30, with 19 turnovers hampering the comeback effort. RMU finished at 44.3 percent (27-of-61) overall, 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from deep, and 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the free throw line.
 
Up next, the team hits the road for a pair of important league matchups, starting with Wright State Wednesday. The Panthers and Raiders are scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. CT.