Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Box Score

Kentucky Wesleyan College had a difficult debut Friday night to the men's basketball season.

The Panthers fell 78-53 to San Francisco State in the Disney West Tip-Off Classic at Anaheim, Calif.

SF State was too good offensively, and KWC didn't do well in several phases of the game.

"They ended up at the front of the rim too much, either from penetration, or we didn't defend their post, and we did a bad job of guarding the ball," KWC coach Todd Lee said. "We didn't understand what we were trying to do with the scouting report. From there it was a total breakdown."

It didn't help the Panthers that they were without two key players, starting point guard Desmond Stephens and starting forward Andree' Wilson. They were serving a one-game suspension for violation of team rules. Lee said they would both play today against Western Washington.

"It will help having them back," Lee said.

SF State shot 58.7 percent from the floor, hitting 27-of-46. The Gators were also very effective from 3-point range, hitting 10-of-16 for 62.5 percent.

Nefi Perdomo led all scorers with 16 points for the Gators. Derek Fletcher and Marquel Hoskins each had 11 and Phoenix O'Rourke added 10.

"We didn't do a good job of locating their shooters," Lee said. "We had too many guys trying to figure out what they were doing offensively and defensively. We didn't have enough veterans out there."

KWC was led by Marico Stinson with 12 points. Willie Richardson added 11.

The Panthers shot just 30.5 percent, hitting 18-of-59 from the floor. They were 6-of-21 from 3-point range for 28.6 percent.