The Milwaukee men’s basketball team took to the court for their season finale on Saturday night at the UWM Panther Arena and fell at the last minute to Wright State, 65-62.
“First of all, congratulations to Wright State. They earned a tough, hard-fought win tonight,” head coach Pat Baldwin said. “My first thoughts are with our seniors – Vance and Jake – who have done an exceptional job from the time that they stepped on campus in representing Milwaukee the right way. We are going to miss those two guys because they were vital to what we are trying to do here. We’re building a real good foundation – you don’t see it in the numbers right now – but you can see it in the character of our kids and how hard they work.”
Both teams got off on a fast start, staying tied up until six minutes into the first half. The Raiders scored eight in a row to go up 19-12, forcing a Panther timeout with five minutes left. Back-to-back baskets from Amir Allen put the Panthers back within one at 19-18.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Raiders pushed ahead in the second half and gave the Panthers a 14-point deficit. The second half saw lead changes twice from both teams. The Panthers shot 64 percent from the field and played strong defense to get back into it.
4-of-6 free throws and a couple forced turnovers would seal the victory for the visiting Wright State. A final shot from Senior Vance Johnson which could have sent the game into overtime bounced off the rim and did not go in.
Johnson led the Panthers with 18 points and four rebounds.
Bryce Barnes added 13 points and DeAndre Abram scored 11.
Senior Jake Wright hit a milestone with the 1,000th point of his collegiate career.
Loudon Love led the Raiders with 13 points.
Saturday night’s contest concludes the 2018-2019 season for Milwaukee.