While two seniors ended their career as Panthers trying to earn the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee a ninth victory, the Loyola Ramblers (18-9, 9-5 in Horizon) had something else planned for Nick Hansen and Kevin Massiah“s last home game.

The game would go just as how some would argue the season has been going “ many ups and downs while the Panthers (8-19, 5-9 in Horizon) fought back, but ended up just short.

Loyola came out swinging in the first half, scoring the first basket and leading by as much as 12 points. The Panthers would come within four at the beginning of the second half, but the seniors“ last home game would be a loss as Loyola clinched third place and a first-round Horizon League Tournament bye in the 66-56 contest.

It was a night for the seniors, and Nick Hansen hit the last basket of the game nailing a deep three for his only points of the game while Kevin Massiah put up eight points and seven rebounds.

But the young guys put up the big points, showing the seniors what's to come in the future for UWM. Paige Paulsen had a game-high 16 points and two blocks, hitting two of three from behind the arch. Avery Smith followed up with a solid 10 points while Ryan Thornton hit three of seven treys in a nine-point effort.

Loyola, coming off a four-game winning streak, had four players scoring in double figures and forced 12 Panther turnovers. Pre-season Horizon League player of the year Blake Schilb contributed 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in the Ramblers“ victory. Milwaukee native J.R. Blount, who had a large fan base in the stands, added 14 points and eight rebounds.

“Locking up the third spot in the Horizon was key. We needed it since we couldn“t get second or first,” said Loyola head coach Jim Whitesell. “We“re playing better basketball and great defense. Milwaukee is a young group, they have talent and I could see them making a run in the Horizon tournament this year. They are very athletic.”

UWM cut the 10-point halftime lead to four in fewer than two minutes with an overall team effort, but Loyola wouldn“t allow anymore. After a pass from Ricky Franklin to Massiah down low for a reverse lay-up, both teams went back and forth until the Ramblers went on a 9-2 scoring run to take a 12-point lead with 8:18 left in the game. UWM never gained any ground on Loyola from that point on.

“It just really comes down to the stops, and them being able to get shots off really put us down,” said Panthers head coach Rob Jeter. “They played hard, Schilb made it look easy, and at times we made it look hard.”

The first half did not start out the way Jeter and the Panthers wanted it to. UWM missed 13 of its first 16 shots and allowed Schilb to score 10 first-half points. The Panthers went just 9-of-29 in the first half, making only one of their 12 attempted three-point shots.

“In the first half we didn“t attack them, we just shot from behind the arch,” Jeter said.

UWM never took the lead, and their only tie came when the score was 2-2. Despite the difficulties, the young Panthers had some bright spots. They scored 22 points in the paint and had 12 points off turnovers, while showing that they have the strength to drive back and make it a close game.

The Panthers will play the University of Illinois-Chicago in the Windy City on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m.

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