LUBBOCK, Texas – The Milwaukee men's basketball team gave the No. 11 team in the country all it could handle until well into the second half Friday evening before falling, 80-63, to Texas Tech from United Supermarkets Arena.
 
The Panthers (2-3) opened with nine of the first 12 points and led for the first 11-plus minutes of the night against the Red Raiders (3-1), who had to fight well into the second half to extend their winning streak at home against non-conference opponents to an impressive 41 consecutive, dating back to January of 2020.
 
"I was really proud of how we started the game," head coach Bart Lundy said. "We didn't get on the floor and get a chance to even be in the arena until 40 minutes before tip [Texas Tech hosted a home volleyball game on the arena floor in late afternoon], so to be able to step into this environment and perform was pretty remarkable."
 
Danilo Jovanovich led the MKE offense with 17 points, making 7-of-10 shots from the floor while adding five rebounds and three assists.
 
"If he can stay healthy, he is so poised and so skilled, and he understands everything we are trying to do," Lundy said of Jovanovich. "He makes great reads and that old-school fallaway is pretty deadly."
 
Sekou Konneh enjoyed a coming out party in his redshirt freshman campaign, putting together an impressive night that wrapped up with season-bests of 12 points and eight rebounds, making 6-of-8 shots all in just 14 minutes on the court.
 
"It really changes our team if we can get that version of Sekou every night," Lundy said. "I think we are going to start seeing that guy on a regular basis. He is really good."
 
Seth Hubbard joined them in double-figures with 11 despite battling foul trouble, with Amar Augillard and Esyah Pippa-White next with eight points apiece.
 
The Red Raiders were led by Christian Anderson with 18 points, adding seven assists and five boards. Donovan Atwell was right behind with 17, as five players reached double-figures.
 
JT Toppin, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and Second-Team All-American who came in averaging 33.0 points a night so far this season, was held to just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting, with three turnovers.
 
Milwaukee stayed calm early, handling the loud crowd and the pressure of playing a top team on the road by scoring nine of the first 12 points of the night, taking a lead of 13-9 at the first media timeout and 17-11 when Hubbard just barely beat the shot clock at the 12:11 mark.
 
The Panthers built that to 23-18 on a Hubbard dunk and led for the majority of the first half before Texas Tech finally pushed back. An 11-0 run gave the home side momentum but could only build a 41-36 lead at intermission.
 
Milwaukee wasn't fazed coming out of the locker room either. Faizon Fields hit a tough layup to make it 41-39 and the Panthers were within two again at 43-41 on a Jovanovich layup. That was when the Texas Tech finally seized control, using an 11-2 run to surge ahead, 54-43, with 13:33 left.
 
From there, each time Milwaukee would make a mini-run, the big shot it needed would not fall and the team would get no closer than eight the rest of the way as the home side also prevailed for the 95^th time in its past 96 non-conference home contests.
 
"We had a couple really good looks down nine, and they just didn't go in – they were right there," Lundy said. "It's one of those environments where you have to make those shots to give yourself a chance, but we hung in there. We kept guarding. We had stretches where we didn't score, but the defense and rebounding kept us in it. Eventually if you can guard and rebound, the shots are going to fall."
 
The visitors finished the contest hitting 43.6 percent (24-of-55) overall from the floor, sinking 73.3 percent (11-of-15) of their free throws. TTU was at 42.9 percent (27-of-63), connecting on 13 shots from distance (13-31/.419) and 92.9 percent (13-of-14) from the line. Tech had the edge in rebounds, 36-30, and was whistled for just 10 fouls on the night.
 
The Panthers get some time off next, returning home before heading back out on the road to play Wichita State next Saturday. Tip-off time is set for 6 p.m. against the Shockers.