CLEVELAND, Ohio – Josh Dixon led the way with 28 points, Danilo Jovanovich had 18, and Chandler Jackson scored 14 points off the bench to spark the Milwaukee men's basketball team to an 81-71 victory over Cleveland State Sunday evening from the Wolstein Center.
 
"We told the team, if you can come here and get this one on the road, then we'd consider the first semester a success," head coach Bart Lundy said, in regard to the tough run of injuries the team has played through. "And they came here and gutted it out after being down by 15 in the first half. I am proud of what they have done. We are definitely a work in progress but have a lot to build on."
 
The Panthers (6-6, 2-0 Horizon League) had to claw out of that 15-point first half deficit against the Vikings (4-10, 0-3 Horizon League), spurred on by Jackson in the first half and then by Dixon and Jovanovich after intermission to move to 2-0 in Horizon League play with the big road win.
 
"I thought that Josh and Chandler really carried us for long stretches," Lundy said. "Especially in that first half – Chandler came off the bench and was really the only points and rebounds that we got in the first half off the bench. He was even better in the second half and that three at the end really put the nail in the coffin. But give Cleveland State credit, they really are a great shot-making team, and they are hard to guard. They got us in foul trouble in the second half, and it was a dogfight down the stretch."
 
Dixon continued his impressive weekend, following up his first collegiate start Friday with a performance for the record books against the Vikings. His 28 points not only topped the 24 he had against South Dakota State but marked the fourth-most by a freshman in a single game in program history, and not far off the record of 31 set 30 years ago.
 
"Josh Dixon, just the week he has had, hopefully he can go home for Christmas and rest and build on what he's done this first semester," Lundy said.
 
Dixon finished 10-of-19 from the floor overall, making 4-of-10 shots from long-range, while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. With the game up for grabs early in the second half, he scored 13 consecutive points for the Panthers to take MKE from down three at 40-37 to up five at 50-45, never to trail the rest of the way.
 
Jovanovich scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half, just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. He went 8-of-14 from the charity stripe and added a career-best five assists.
 
Jackson had recorded 11 points in his four appearances on the season coming into play, yet netted 11 points in the first half alone to help spur a huge scoring run that turned the game around. He used 5-of-8 shooting to score his 14 points, making 4-of-6 three-pointers, including a late one that iced the victory for the Panthers. He also added three rebounds.
 
Faizon Fields recorded a season-best 12 rebounds to go along with his six points, while Isaiah Dorceus recorded seven points and helped lead the offense with a season-high nine assists compared to just one turnover.
 
Chevalier Emery led Cleveland State with 22 points, with Tre Beard next in line with 14.
 
The home team came out hot from deep, hitting three's to run out to a quick 11-6 advantage. The deficit grew to 25-12 before a Milwaukee timeout and reached its largest at 27-12 after a CSU 12-0 scoring run was completed at the 9:30 mark of the first half.
 
"We really just talked about how we had to be solid," Lundy said about the turning point in the first half. "We were gambling defensively and they were making us pay for everything. But we got 10 straight stops and that's what started the run. "
 
From there, the Panthers responded, putting together a 20-3 scoring run that made it a new game. Jackson had a layup and a three to cut the margin to 27-21 and another to make it a one-possession game at 29-27 before Dorceus brought it to level with a layup at 29-29. He would hit a three on the next possession to cap the run and give the visitors a short-lived lead before intermission.
 
The teams traded baskets at the start of the second, with Dixon's 3 making it 45-45 at the 15:36 mark. His next gave MKE the lead it would never relinquish, and Jackson put the contest away with a triple that made it 75-65 with 2:26 to play. The Vikes hung around but Dixon's jumper as the shot clock was expiring cemented the decision at 79-71 with under a minute to play.
 
For the game, the Panthers finished at 43.7 percent (31-of-71) from the floor overall, making 34.4 percent (11-of-32) of their three-point attempts. The team went 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the line, shooting less than half as many free throws as the Vikings. Cleveland State finished the contest at 41.8 percent (23-of-55) overall, hitting 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from deep and 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the stripe. Milwaukee had a big rebounding edge at 48-29 and turned the ball over just five times – tied for the fourth fewest in a game in program history. The Panthers also had the 15-3 advantage in fastbreak points.
 
Up next, the Panthers enjoy some time off Christmas week before returning to action Dec. 29, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne in a 7 p.m. start from UWM Panther Arena. The Mastodons posted a big upset Sunday, topping Notre Dame on the road by a final score of 72-69.