Panthers bounce back nicely after a slow start

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Bryce Nze had a hot time in the Sunshine State.

The sophomore forward, who starred at Arrowhead High School, posted the third double-double of his career to lead UW-Milwaukee to a 62-52 victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday night at historic Swisher Gym.

Nze put together a highlight reel against the Dolphins. He had 13 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots, five assists and a steal. His rebound and assist totals tied his career highs, while the block total was a new high.

Jeremiah Bell was a spark plug off the bench, finishing with a season-high 14 points. He had 10 points after intermission.

“JB was really good,” Panthers coach Pat Baldwin said. “He’s been good off the bench for us the entire year, so we can count on that. He was aggressive and I was impressed with his play.”

Brock Stull chipped in with 12 points, with all but three coming in the second half.

It started out looking like it may be a long night for the Panthers (3-6). UWM was a chilly 6 for 21 (28.6%) from the floor to open the game.

Down by nine on a couple of occasions, the Panthers battled back to force a 26-26 deadlock at the break.

“The thing that we talked about with our guys, was as poorly as we could have played at the start — to go on a run late in the first half — it was 26-26 and we were even now,” Baldwin said. “Now it’s a new half and you can flush everything out from the first half and erase it from our memories.”

A 16-2 run spanning both halves gave the Panthers control, with the lead eventually growing to 33-28 just into the second half, forcing a Jacksonville timeout at 18:32.

A jumper by Vance Johnson made it 46-36 with 11:48 to go, capping a stretch in which UWM scored 29 of 39 points.

After the Dolphins climbed back, a Stull three pushed UWM’s lead back to 10 at 55-45, and a three by Bell to make it 60-47 put it away.

JD Notae led the Dolphins (3-7) with 15 points.