The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee dropped their Horizon League opener Thursday to the University of Illinois-Chicago 91-73 at the UIC Pavilion.

Torre Johnson led the way for the Panthers notching 30 points and six boards, but it was not enough to over come the Flames hot shooting and junior Josh Mayo who finished the game with 29.

With the loss, the Panthers (3-5, 0-1) have now lost four in a row and five of their last six.

The Flames (4-4, 1-0) used 60.3 percent shooting from the field to cruise to the victory.

In the first half the Panthers came out strong taking the lead early 17-10. However, the Flames used a 19-4 run midway through the half to regain control at 29-21.

The Panthers were able to draw within 33-28, but the Flames once again used an 11-4 run to close the half with a 44-32 lead. Leading those runs for the Flames was Mayo who matched Johnson’s with 13 points in the first half.

The Flames also control the paint throughout the first half scoring 22 of their 44 points inside, holding the Panthers to only 14.

The second half went very similar to the first as the Flames used hot shooting to stay in control. A three-pointer by Paige Paulsen drew the Panthers within nine, but the Flames would rebuild their lead to 60-42 just before the 15:00 mark

The Flames pushed their lead out to as many as 21 in the second half, thanks to a 14 point contribution from Robert Kreps and 10 from Scott Vandermeer.

Ricky Franklin and Deonte Roberts each chipped in nine for the Panthers, with Johnson being the only UWM player to score in double figures.

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