The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team definitely did not want to start the conference season out like this.

The Panthers (2-9 overall, 0-1 Horizon League) lost at home, 68-65, to Youngstown State (4-6, 1-1) after a very poor performance that saw Milwaukee take 77 shots and shoot just 34 percent from field.

The game came down to the final seconds when Paige Paulsen got fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining, down 66-64. Paulsen hit the first free throw, but came up short on the second as Youngstown State hit two free throws to seal the game.

“We waited until 37 minutes into the game to start playing,” said UWM coach Rob Jeter. “We didn’t come out playing inspiring basketball.”

Paulsen led the Panthers with 16 points and nine rebounds.

UWM took a 32-30 lead into halftime, but the team had a shaky first half. Youngstown State jumped out to a 21-9 run in the second half to go up 51-40, and the Panthers looked very sluggish.

“They came out and wanted it more than us,” said UWM guard Allan Hanson.

Keston Roberts led the way for the Penguins with 21 points and Quin Humphrey added 14.

One of the biggest areas of concern for the Panthers was their three-point shooting. The Panthers took an astounding 31 attempts and only making seven, for a dreadful 22 percent.

The only bright spot was Hanson, who went 4-of-8 from beyond the arc for a total of 14 points.

“We took way too many three pointers,” said Jeter. “Lots of long shots led to some easy run out points. We got away from getting the ball inside.”

The Penguins scored on 19 fast break points to Milwaukee’s seven.

Youngstown State on the other hand shot 54 percent from three-point land on 7-of-13 shooting. They also shot 46 percent from the field on 26-of-57 shooting, including 15 of 28 in the second half.

The Panthers got down as many as 13 points when they trailed 58-45 at the 8 minutes 27 seconds mark of the second half. Milwaukee’s defense was very poor, as they gave up plenty of three-point shots and seemed to get lost on defense.

However, UWM stormed back, going on a 14-2 run ignited by Avery Smith to cut the lead to 60-59 with just under four minutes to play. The Panthers then took the lead on a pretty pass from Smith to Kevin Massiah for a layup to go up 61-60. A free throw tied the game at 61 with just under three minutes to play.

The turning point of the game may have come on the next possession, when Smith forced a runner that missed badly. The Penguins responded by scoring the next five points to take a 66-61 lead with 43 seconds remaining.

Massiah hit a free throw and a jumper to cut the lead to 66-64 with eight seconds left on the clock. The Panthers then forced two jump balls to give them possession with three seconds, leading to Paulsen’s free throws.

Jeter realizes that this season is not only a learning process for his players but himself as well.

“We have a bunch of young guys and we’re trying to figure out a lot of things with this group,” he said.

UWM will head up the road to Madison to take on the Badgers this Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.

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