UWM gets run off the floor in first half of 18-point loss to Northern Kentucky

That was rough.

An ugly first half from the Milwaukee Panthers led way to one of the most disheartening showings at home in recent memory Jan. 9, an 85-67 loss to the Northern Kentucky Norse.

Forward Kael Robinson poured in nine 3-pointers and a game-high 29 points as he and the Norse buried the Panthers with an onslaught of offense, especially early.

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“We’ve got to have two things,” Panthers head coach Bart Lundy said. “We’ve got to make less mistakes and have more toughness.”

BOX SCORE: Northern Kentucky 85, UW-Milwaukee 67

No amount of positive moments from true freshmen Josh Dixon and Stevie Elam – they combined for 18 points in the second half and 30 on the night – could wash away the overall feeling of the night.

The Norse led by as many as 20 in the first half, which they ended with a 55-37 lead to ultimately handle the Panthers their worst home loss since coming up 36 points short against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 9, 2022.

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Treacherous first half spells doom

The first 20 minutes may have been the worst half of the Lundy era.

Only once in the past four seasons were the Panthers outscored more in a half than the 18-point deficit they faced against the Norse – and that came on the road against the second-place finisher in the Horizon League. Their previous worst home loss under Lundy was a 13-point defeat to Longwood on Dec. 13, 2023.

Northern Kentucky had only four empty possessions in the first 11 minutes of the game, making six threes and grabbing six offensive rebounds. A putback dunk by x Dozier made it a 40-25 game and forced Lundy to use his second timeout of the game.

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The Norse lead the nation in fastbreak points, averaging 18 per game and Milwaukee simply could not get back in transition, even after a made basket. The Norse had a whopping 20 points on the fastbreak in the first 20 minutes alone – and that doesn’t even include free throws courtesy of run-outs. Two of those transition trips to the foul line came in succession…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/uwm-gets-run-off-floor-040528135.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-10 04:05:00

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