Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee men's basketball team faced a narrow defeat against Purdue Fort Wayne, losing 81-79 in a closely contested game at the UWM Panther Arena. Despite tying the game at 70-70 with under four minutes left, the Panthers could not secure the win.

The Panthers, now standing at 15-8 overall and 8-4 in the Horizon League, initially led but had to recover from a late deficit against the Mastodons, who improved their record to 16-8 overall and 9-4 in the league. In the final seconds, Milwaukee had an opportunity to clinch victory with a half-court shot that narrowly missed.

"Credit to Purdue Fort Wayne, they played better basketball than we did tonight," stated Bart Lundy, head coach of Milwaukee. "The way we are built, we can't give up 81 points on our home floor."

Leading Milwaukee's scoring was Themus Fulks with 15 points and eight assists. Fulks also achieved his 500th NCAA Division I career assist during this match. He was supported by Faizon Fields with 13 points and nine rebounds, Erik Pratt with 13 points and five rebounds, AJ McKee contributing 12 points, and Kentrell Pullian adding 11 points along with four steals.

Purdue Fort Wayne's Rasheed Bello scored a crucial three-pointer as the shot clock expired, breaking the tie and shifting momentum back to his team. Jalen Jackson added significant support with his contribution of 22 points.

"We gave up 13 three's and obviously, (Rasheed) Bello hit just a massive dagger three and that's what everyone will remember," said Lundy. "And that's a heck of a play from a heck of a player."

Milwaukee began strongly with an early lead of 11-4 but faced challenges due to first-half foul troubles among their starters. They managed to maintain a slight edge at halftime with a score of 36-33.

The second half saw Purdue Fort Wayne gaining momentum with an initial run that secured them an early lead. A subsequent run increased their advantage further before Milwaukee made efforts to equalize once more at 70-all.

Despite shooting nearly identical field goal percentages—47% for Milwaukee compared to Purdue Fort Wayne’s 46.7%—the decisive factor lay in three-point shooting accuracy where Purdue Fort Wayne excelled by making thirteen shots compared to six from Milwaukee.

"Our offense was a little stagnant," remarked Lundy regarding his team's performance. "They are extremely aggressive...But still, we scored 79."

Milwaukee now looks forward to its next challenge on Wednesday against IU Indianapolis as part of an important two-game road trip.