MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team whittled a 19-point deficit down to just four points in the second half but couldn't complete the comeback in falling to Wright State, 76-69, Friday evening at UWM Panther Arena.
 
The Panthers (9-14, 5-7 Horizon League) turned the game around with a big scoring run in the second half, but back-to-back three-pointers off offensive rebounds by the Raiders (14-8, 9-2 Horizon League) with under four minutes to play helped the visitors escape with the victory to remain in first place in the Horizon League regular-season standings.
 
Amar Augillard led the way in the "Black & Gold in the Cold" homecoming-themed contest with 19 points, tying his career-high with eight rebounds. Aaron Franklin finished the night with 13 points, adding six boards.
 
Isaiah Dorceus contributed 7 points/7 assists and Sekou Konneh finished with nine points, five rebounds, and a career-high four blocks in just 13 minutes of action. Stevie Elam chipped in six points and grabbed a team-high and career-best 10 rebounds.
 
"Give Wright State credit, they are an excellent team and very physical," head coach Bart Lundy said. "Like us, they really rebound the ball and put a lot of pressure on you on the perimeter. We had a stretch at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half that really sunk us. You can't fault our guy's effort in any way – I thought everybody fought."
 
TJ Burch paced the visitors with 18 points, one of four in double-figures. Dominic Pangonis chipped in 16 and Michael Cooper was big with 13 points off the bench, including both of the decisive three-pointers with the game in the balance.
 
Back-and-forth from the start, with the shorthanded MKE roster surging ahead early, the Raiders took key momentum after an Augillard jumper pulled his team within two at 23-21.
 
The visitors would score 10 of the next 12, with eight coming from Birch, to eventually take a 36-26 lead at the break.
 
"We got a little worn down," Lundy said. "Our margins are so thin – shooting 6-for-12 from the free throw line and 5-of-25, which was 3-of-23 (from three-point range) until the final 40 seconds or so, it's going to be hard to win with our depleted roster. But we are changing the way we are playing, and they are really buying into what we are doing. Playing hard … playing really hard. Just can we have a little success and keep the guy's spirits going."
 
Down 19 at 48-29, the Panthers would storm back. The team kept getting the stops it needed and used a 15-1 run to flip the script and pull within five at 49-44 on an Augillard triple.
 
Down to a two-possession game at 52-48, MKE was again within five at 59-54 on a pair of Josh Dixon free throws with 4:16 to play.
 
Wright State asserted itself at that point, with Cooper making those back-to-back 3's to push the lead back to 11 in an instant. The Panthers would fight to the end but get no closer than that four-point deficit the rest of the way.
 
Down four would-be starters for the sixth consecutive contest, Lundy announced postgame that Danilo Jovanovich would miss the remainder of the season due to injury, marking the third different projected starter to join that list (John Lovelace Jr./Seth Hubbard). The undermanned MKE roster played hard to the final horn Friday, keeping Wright State below its season average in scoring while also forcing more turnovers (14-to-10) and nearly playing the rebound battle even (41-40 WSU).
 
"These guys are learning to play as a group and we are doing different things defensively," Lundy said. "We will continue to get better and will be dangerous at the end."
 
The Panthers finished the night shooting 42.0 percent (29-of-69) from the floor overall, but with the roster issues – Simeon Murchison was also out tonight, and Tate Mackenzie was limited to just two minutes due to injury – the three-point shooting (20.0 percent) and work from the line (50.0 percent) thwarted the upset chances. Wright State finished at 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor overall.
 
Up next, the team remains at home and welcomes Cleveland State Sunday, set for a 2 p.m. tipoff from downtown Milwaukee,