MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's basketball team found a way to force a tie after being down five points with 10.2 seconds to play, but a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left helped Cleveland State escape with a stunning 90-88 victory Sunday afternoon at UWM Panther Arena.
 
Aaron Franklin chased a triple-double for the Panthers (9-15, 5-8 Horizon League) with 17 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds and Josh Dixon hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer in the closing seconds but two free throws by the Vikings (9-14, 5-7 Horizon League) when the contest appeared headed for overtime helped the visitors extend their winning streak to four consecutive in improbable fashion.
 
"Give Cleveland State credit, they've won four in a row and swept the Wisconsin trip, which is difficult to do," Milwaukee head coach Bart Lundy said. "This is a tough one. I don't know that it gets easier for us. Maybe we will get Faizon (Fields) back and we get a little consistency, but our best lineup tonight was with the three freshmen on the floor. Josh Dixon and Stevie Elam, you look in their eyes, and you know they want to win. And you see fire. We will keep plugging away, but this is a painful one."
 
Franklin came oh-so-close to the sixth triple-double in program history, finishing 5-of-6 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the line. His assist total was a career high as well.
 
"But I do want to praise Aaron Franklin," Lundy said. "We are struggling with consistency in a lot of things and that's a guy who missed all of summer with a serious foot problem and at the start of the season, we would be generous to say he was our eighth man. But he is not every day, he is every play – every play in practice, he is giving everything he's got. For him to have close to a triple-double … he is a guy that deserves some praise."
 
Stevie Elam led the MKE offense with a career-high 21 points, making five three's to help spur a late comeback that nearly proved enough.
 
Dixon added 19 points off the bench, making 6-of-8 field goals overall as well as 3-of-4 from deep, adding a pair of assists.
 
Chandler Jackson was also big, posting the first double-double of his Milwaukee career with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Jaidon Lipscomb paced CSU with 21 points, including the final pair from the charity stripe that sealed the outcome. Dayan Nessah put together a double-double of 19 points and 13 boards.
 
Down five at the break and 12 with 10:56 remaining at 66-54, the Panthers ripped off six unanswered to push back and a three-point play from Franklin capped a 13-4 run and cut the deficit to just three at 70-67.
 
Back-and-forth it went from there, with Cleveland State eventually building an 88-83 advantage in the final minute. Following a rebound, a flagrant foul on CSU set the stage for the last scramble with 10.2 seconds remaining.
 
Dixon made both free throws and then buried a tough three-pointer to make it a new game at 88-88 and set the crowd off. With the final seconds ticking towards overtime, a foul was called that proved to be the difference.
 
For the game, Milwaukee shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) overall and 37.9 percent (11-of-29) from deep, as well as 77.8 percent (21-of-27) from the line. The Vikes finished at an even 50 percent (28-of-56) overall, making 14 3's (14-36/.389) and 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the free throw line.
 
Up next, the Panthers wrap up the homestand Wednesday, taking on Detroit Mercy for the first time this season. Game time against the Titans is set for 7 p.m.