Tough stretch for UW-Milwaukee ends in frustrating loss at Wright State

The fight was there. But it wasn't enough in the end.

Playing their third game in four days – an NBA-style span on the schedule that coach Bart Lundy knew would push his players to the limit – the UW-Milwaukee Panthers battled back from a large early deficit only to fail to make key plays late and fall, 76-70, at Wright State in a New Year's Day Horizon League matinee.

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Danilo Jovanovich notched his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes, while Isaiah Dorceus added 13 points and Amar Augillard 12 off the bench for UWM (7-8, 3-1).

But Wright State (8-7, 3-1) got double figures from all five of its starters while playing without injured leading scorer Michael Cooper and took advantage of a huge disparity at the free-throw line – 21 of 25 compared to 7 for 11 for the Panthers – to leave UWM 1-2 coming out of its torturous stretch.

The Panthers, who trailed by as many as 20 late in the first half, used a steady dose of Jovanovich on offense to chip away at the deficit, with the 6-foot-8 senior either scoring by backing defenders down near the lane or dishing off to teammates like Augillard.

It was a Dorceus 3-pointer from the left corner that got UWM to within 64-62 with 4 minutes 15 seconds remaining, and the game see-sawed back and forth from there.

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Box score

Wright State scored on a layup on the ensuing possession – one that proved especially costly when Faizon Fields rolled his right ankle trying to defend and needing to be helped off the court – but the Panthers answered with a conventional three-point play by Augillard to again make it a one-point game.

The Raiders countered with a three-point play of their own, then Augillard drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to pull the Panthers to within 69-68 with 2:24 left.

UWM forced a miss on the other end, setting up a chance to grab its first lead since early in the first half only for Augillard to miss on a drive and Dominic Pangonis to respond with another three-point play.

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It was 72-68 with 1:27 remaining, but a bad pass by Aaron Franklin on the other end made the Panthers' comeback bid that much more difficult.

The Raiders milked the clock, missed a shot and grabbed the offensive rebound with 31 seconds left. But UWM elected not to foul, setting the stage for a wild driving bank shot by TJ Burch that left the deficit 74-68 with 15.2 remaining.

A Dorceus drive cut it to 74-70 at 9 seconds but two Burch free throws sealed it.

One of the big bright spots was the play of 6-foot-10 junior Tate Mackenzie, who entered with one point to his credit in nine games and responded with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in 14 big minutes off the bench.

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Even larger than the offense was the presence his 260-pound frame provided as Mackenzie was one of the lone Panthers defenders to offer any major resistance against the Raiders as they attacked the basket.

Mackenzie's presence might loom even larger moving forward now with Fields having left the Nutter Center on crutches – the latest in what's been an unbelievable run of injuries suffered by key Panthers, who next travel to face a much improved UW-Green Bay team (7-8, 2-2) on Monday, Jan. 5, at the Kress Center.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee's tough stretch ends in frustrating loss at Wright State