DAYTON, Ohio – Kentrell Pullian and Themus Fulks led the way with 18 points apiece and the Milwaukee men's basketball team used a big second half to claim an important 95-79 road victory over Wright State Wednesday night at the Nutter Center.
 
"I thought we played really well offensively in the second half," head coach Bart Lundy said. "We got huge, timely offensive rebounds and made our free throws against a team that is really good at home offensively. We didn't exactly shut them down, but we made enough plays on offense to finish off the victory."
 
The Panthers (14-7, 7-3 Horizon League) scored 53 points in the second half against the Raiders (10-11, 4-6 Horizon League) and were in complete control down the stretch in winning on the road during the regular season for the first time in the series since February of 2018.
 
"This has been a nightmare road trip for us the past two years, even though the first season [2022-23] we won at NKU when we were down 20 in the second half," Lundy said. "We have our work cut out for us – they are a really good team and it's hard to win there. But to get this one after losing to Robert Morris does allow us to breath a bit."
 
Pullian's night included the 1,000^th point of his NCAA Division I career, finishing with his 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding four rebounds. His floater in the lane with 7:04 left on the clock pushed him to 1,001 in his three-year MKE career, marking the 32nd player all-time to achieve the milestone, with all of his points coming as a Panther.
 
Fulks just missed a double-double, tying his season-high with nine assists to go along with his 18 points, adding three steals.
 
The MKE offense ended the night with six players in double-figures and just missed a seventh. Erik Pratt finished with 15 points, including a 4-of-6 effort from three-point range, adding five rebounds. AJ McKee was next with 11, making all six of his free throw attempts while adding three rebounds and a season-high four steals.
 
"If we can keep that going, that's what good teams do," Lundy said about the balance on offense. "You've got guys that have their moments and are willing to pass it when it's not their moment. We had that tonight – we had some really good performances – but even better team basketball."
 
Jamichael Stillwell (10 points/6 rebounds) and Faizon Fields (10 points/5 rebounds) rounded out the list, with Danilo Jovanovich contributing nine points while tying his career-high with seven rebounds.
 
Alex Huibregtse led WSU with a game-high 21 points.
 
After scoring 21 of the final 29 points of the first half to take a 42-36 advantage, the Panthers scored the first six points coming out of the locker room to force a timeout by the home side at 48-36.
 
"The ball really moved for us in the first half, better than it has been," Lundy said. "Guys were ready to shoot and they shot with confidence and we made them. It was good to see that."
 
The lead grew to 51-38 on a Pullian three at the 16:28 mark, but the Raiders chipped away, using an 8-1 spurt to get back within six at 52-46.
 
The advantage was back to double-figures at 57-46 on a Jovanovich three-point play at the 12:47 mark and grew to 15 at 70-55 on a Stillwell jumper with around nine minutes remaining.
 
Pullian came through with the play of the game next, following his own miss on a corner three with the offensive rebound putback where he was hammered on the play yet made the circus shot. His free throw made it 73-57 and Pratt would go on to make a couple of huge 3's, including one with 3:00 left on the clock that sent the crowd to the exits at 89-71.
 
The game started back-and-forth, seeing five ties and four lead changes early. It was 21-all on a Pullian three and then, after seven in a row from WSU, back to even again at 32-32 on a McKee triple. The visitors then took control with an 11-0 run, capped by back-to-back makes from distance by Pratt to go ahead, 40-32.
 
For the game, the MKE offense finished at 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the floor overall, making 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point range – their most made 3's since Dec. 15. The team also went a season-best 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the line. WSU finished at an even 50 percent (28-of-56) and hit nine 3's. Milwaukee grabbed the 36-30 rebound edge and finished with a 21-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Up next, the team stays on the road and will battle Northern Kentucky Friday night. Tip time against the Norse is set for 6 p.m. CT.