For most of the season, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's basketball team has been taking care of opponents. A 15-4 overall record going into this past week had Milwaukee poised to repeat as conference regular season champions.

When the Panthers went down to Chicago and took down the Loyola Ramblers, the momentum seemed to be building.

Then the hammer dropped.

In two straight games, Milwaukee was defeated. The first time consecutive losses happened this year happened to come at the worst possible time. They dropped the first game to Wright State, a team in third place and gaining speed as they thrashed the Horizon League.

Then, on Saturday, it was Butler, in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, downing the Panthers in overtime.

At Wright State, Milwaukee ran into a team that was on fire. The Raiders shot over 45 percent despite missing eight shots from outside the arc. A combination of mid-range jumpers and slashes to the basket by DaShaun Wood and some very solid work inside by Drew Burleson combined for 34 of Wright State's 59 points.

It did not help that Milwaukee only shot 35.2 percent from the field during the game, a number exasperated by the fact that they were outscored at the charity stripe by 10.

Fourteen turnovers may have been the other smoking gun. Coach Rob Jeter has said that he hopes to get the team's turnover count to around 10 per game, something that is much easier said than done.

Teams that rank around there lead the nation. Chris Hill had 15 points, but only one assist. Senior Adrian Tigert had another double-double, nabbing 10 rebounds to go with his 15 points. Joah Tucker had 12 points and five boards, and also led the team with five turnovers.

At Hinkle Fieldhouse, the target was still on Milwaukee's back. That did not stop Milwaukee from completely owning Butler underneath. An amazing 50-22 edge on points in the paint, as well as a 24-rebound advantage, led Milwaukee to lead late in regulation.

However, that left a very sparse outside game, as Milwaukee scored only 10 points away from the lane. With the Bulldogs down by three in the closing seconds, A.J. Graves nailed a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Nearing the end of overtime, Tucker drove the lane in an attempt to put UWM back in it. With Milwaukee down by one, Tucker was practically beaten by a physical defense, and he wound up on the floor.

Somehow, that became a jump ball, and the possession arrow went to Butler. Brandon Polk then sank two free throws on the other end to defeat Milwaukee, 63-60.

Leading the Panthers was Tucker, whose 26 points were his season high, and his 10 rebounds gave him his third double-double of the year. Tigert also had a double-double, matching points and boards at 13. Jason McCoy had his occasional fantastic game, scoring just two points short of a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points. Chris Hill, the Panthers point guard, had no assists in the contest. Boo Davis was cold on two-for-nine shooting to finish with four points.

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