The UW-Milwaukee Panthers men’s Basketball team cut a 21-point first half deficit down to just one point with just over a minute remaining in the game, but could not find a way to complete the comeback in falling to Detroit Mercy (4-15, 2-4 Horizon League), 90-84, Thursday night at UWM Panther Arena.
UWM (8-10, 3-3 Horizon League) saw their three game winning streak come to an end. Detroit Mercy used a huge first half from Antoine Davis to build what turned out to be an insurmountable lead.
“Disappointing night, to say the least,” UWM head coach Pat Baldwin said. “We spotted Detroit a ton of points and dug ourselves a hole. Fifty-five points in the first half, you’re not going to beat anybody like that. Our guys had to respond, and they did. They gave us an opportunity to get back into the game by making some plays late, but we didn’t make enough of them.”
DeAndre Abram led Milwaukee with his eighth career double-double, finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds, both season high’s for him.
Darius Roy added 24 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Te’Jon Lucas had 13 points, but on 4-of-15 shooting and 0-for-3 from deep.
This wasn’t the first time UWM has come out flat and dug themselves a big hole in the first half. The home loss to Eastern Illinois in December was almost identical to this game. Other games that were similar were the games against Kansas and Western Michigan.
It would also help if UWM was semi-adequate from the free throw line (67.9% on the season).
UWM will host the Oakland Grizzlies on Saturday at 6:00 pm (CT). The game will be televised on ESPN+ as well as MY24 in Wisconsin.
Nick Obot 