After a tough loss to Green Bay on the road Tuesday, the NKU men’s basketball team did not get the performance they wanted tonight against a four win Milwaukee team.  

The Norse fell to Milwaukee 68-58. This is the first Horizon League victory of the season for the Panthers, as they improve to 5-12. The loss is the second of week for the Norse as they drop to 12-7. 

The Panthers shot 45 percent on the night, while NKU shot 42 percent. After being tied at halftime, the Panthers were propelled by a 50 percent shooting performance in the second half. The Norse shot just 41 percent in the half and went 2-9 from three. 

Despite being one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, the Norse were outrebounded 33-29, which resulted in 19 second chance points for the Panthers. 

Panthers guard Brock Stull lead all scorers with 18 points while also recording seven rebounds. Cody Wichmann followed with 15 points and Jeremiah Bell finished with 11 points. 

NKU had four starters in double figures. Lavone Holland II led the way with 17 points and dished out seven assists. Drew McDonald followed with 14 points while Cole Murray and Carson Williams finished with 11 and 10 points respectively. 

The difference in the game was the lack of bench support for the Norse, Mason Faulkner and Brennan Gillis scored the only four bench points for the Norse. Meanwhile the Panthers bench contributed 17 points to the Panther victory. 

The Norse will have a week to work through the frustrations of this road trip and prepare to play Oakland at BB&T Arena. Oakland handed the Norse their first Horizon League loss of the season on New Years Eve. Oakland has since surged to the top of the Horizon League standings with a 14-3 overall record with 4-0 record in league play. The game will be available on ESPN3.