Men Fall Short at Milwaukee 54-53

Wright State led for most of the first half, but Milwaukee closed out the period with a 15-5 run and led by as much as 11 in the second half before holding on for a 54-53 Horizon League decision over the Raiders Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Arena.

Anthony Hill opened the scoring with a layup, only to see WSU follow with a 14-4 run over the next eight minutes, half of those coming from Vaughn Duggins.  The Raider lead was 19-12 on a Johann Mpondo basket with 8:33 remaining before Milwaukee closed the half with a 15-5 run to go up 27-24 at the break.

Wright State outshot the Panthers in the first half 45-33 percent and was three of seven from three-point range compared to three for 13 for Milwaukee, UWM, though, was eight of 12 from the line while the Raiders was just three of four.

Duggins put WSU back in front at 33-32 on two foul shots at the 12:54 mark of the second half, but that turned out to be the final lead of the day for the Raiders as Milwaukee responded with a 14-2 burst over a 3:36 span, seven coming from Hill and five by Tone Boyle, to go up 46-35.

The margin was still 11 until Wright State used a 13-3 run, highlighted by a pair of N’Gai Evans three and one by Duggins, to only trail 51-50 with 1:40 to play.

The Panthers hit two of four foul shots over the next minute, giving WSU a chance to tie with a three-pointer, but a turnover resulted in Boyle hitting one of two at the stripe with four seconds left, making it a two-possession game at 54-50.  Kegan Clark rounded out the scoring with a buzzer-beating three from just inside midcourt.

The Raiders have now dropped 13 straight in Milwaukee since last winning there on February 21, 1998.

WSU finished with a higher shooting percentage (.425-.349) and was seven of 16 from three-point range compared to four of 22 for Milwaukee, but UWM was 20 of 29 at the foul line, 12 of 17 in the second half, while the Raiders were 12 of 15.

Duggins led all scorers as he tied a career high with 26 points, matching the 26 he scored against Green Bay on New Year’s Day, while Evans had 15.  No other Raider, however, had more than four.

Hill paced Milwaukee (12-11, 7-5 Horizon) with 22 points while Boyle had a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds.

Wright State (14-9, 7-4 Horizon) returns home for a three-game homestand over five days, starting with a 7:00 matchup against Loyola on Thursday, February 3.