UWM Falls to Wright State, 92-81

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UW Milwaukee lost a back-and-forth game against one of the top teams in the Horizon League, falling to Wright State 92-81 on Friday night.   

The Panthers (7-9, 6-8 Horizon) battled until the end but ultimately dropped their third straight game in a shootout with the Raiders.  

The Raiders (16-4, 14-3) went on a 15-2 run in the final four minutes of the first half, going 3-for-3 behind the arc during the run to increase their lead to 14. That three-minute stretch proved to be too much for the Panthers to come back from.  

Down the stretch, the Panthers were able to cut the deficit to nine, but Wright State had an answer for every Milwaukee basket.  

“I love our guys cause they’re fighting until the end,” UWM Coach Pat Baldwin said. “It just tells me that they have the no quit attitude and now we just need to make corrections on some of the mistakes.”  

Committing 13 turnovers and spending much of the game in foul trouble plagued the Panthers in a game where they shot 47% from the field and 50% from behind the arc.  

Panthers senior guard, Te’Jon Lucas was forced to sit after picking up his fourth foul only a few minutes into the second half.  

“I think Te’Jon has proven throughout his three years that he’s very valuable to us,” Baldwin said. “Anytime you lose your leader and floor general it makes it very difficult to come back in a game like this.”  

UWM may have had its best half of the season offensively in the second half, hitting 7-of-12 threes.  

Deandre Gholston had a career-high 29 points while shooting 10-for-17 from the field and 5-for-8 from three.  

“Dre had a terrific week in practice, so a lot of the stuff that happens in practice translates to the game,” said Baldwin.  “He’s a tremendous talent, he can shoot the three, he can post up, he can drive and finish at the rim so him doing this tonight isn’t a surprise for us.” 

Courtney Brown Jr. Added 14 points for the Panthers as well as Josh Thomas who scored 13 coming off the bench.  

Wright State countered the offensive explosion by Milwaukee with one of its own. Five players for the Raiders scored in double digits, led by Loudon Love who scored 21, making it difficult for the Panthers to make up ground. 

NOTES: The Panthers were back at full strength for the first time since Jan. 16, getting Tafari Simms back from an ankle sprain that he suffered last month.