Advertisement UW-Milwaukee Panthers heading to NCAA tournament UWM beats Wright State for Horizon League tournament title Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Senior forward Kyle Kelm had a double-double and Milwaukee's front line dominated, and the Panthers led the whole way during a 69-63 victory over Wright State on Tuesday night for the Horizon League tournament title. Milwaukee (21-13) is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006, when the Panthers knocked off Oklahoma in the first round before losing to Florida. They're 3-3 all-time in the tournament. Kelm had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Jordan Aaron scored 18 points as Milwaukee went 9 of 18 from beyond the arc against the league's top defense and had a 35-28 edge in rebounds. Wright State (20-14) has a season-high six-game winning streak snapped. The Raiders were trying to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. A.J. Pacher led the Raiders with 16 points despite spending much of the second half on the bench in foul trouble. The title game wound up on Wright State's floor after the tournament's top two seeds got knocked out in the semifinals. Milwaukee beat No. 1 seed Green Bay 73-66 in overtime. No. 3 seed Wright State beat No. 2 seed Cleveland State 68-63. The teams split their season series, each winning at home after building a big early lead. The Raiders won in Dayton 73-57 on Jan. 21 after pulling ahead 39-21 at halftime. The Panthers got ahead by 20 points before holding on for a 68-64 win on Jan. 30. The rematch was another case of trying to hold onto a big early lead. The Panthers pulled it off. Milwaukee hardly missed at the outset. The Panthers made seven of their first 10 shots, including 3 of 4 beyond the arc, during an opening 21-7 run. Austin Arians had a jumper and a 3-pointer during the spurt, which was set up by four Wright State turnovers. The Raiders went nearly eight minutes without a field goal as the Panthers extended the lead to 15 points. J.T. Yoho hit back-to-back 3s that started an eight-point run and got Wright State going. The Raiders got the lead down to 32-27 with an 8-3 spurt that featured a pair of free throws and a tip-in by Pacher. Kelm had a three-point play and a putback that helped Milwaukee extend the lead to 43-33 at the half. Kelm had a game-high 14 points in the half. The Panthers returned to the court first to warm up for the second half, only to find there were no basketballs to shoot. They stood around for a few minutes before an equipment handler wheeled out a rack of basketballs. Both teams took the ball inside for points at the start of the second half. Pacher had a pair of baskets but picked up his third foul as Wright State cut it to 47-43. He returned and picked up his fourth foul with 9:57 to go. Milwaukee went on a 10-3 spurt that featured Aaron's 3-pointer and rebuilt the lead to 60-48 midway through the half. With Pacher back in the game, Wright State made its final run. Jerran Young had a jumper and a 3-pointer, and Miles Dixon's two free throws cut it to 67-63 with 1:03 left. Aaron was fouled while driving to the basket and made both free throws with 31.5 seconds to go. Wright State missed a pair of 3-point shots as Milwaukee finished it off.