KWC, Brescia feature attractions - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

The second annual Hampton Inn/Worth Insurance Owensboro Classic tips off tonight at the Sportscenter.

The men's basketball doubleheader today and Saturday gives people a chance to see Kentucky Wesleyan College and Brescia University in the same building.

"It's a good opportunity for everybody to see us and Brescia," KWC coach Todd Lee said. "For Brescia, it's like they get to have two free home games."

The Panthers (4-1) will face Lambuth (6-1), a solid NAIA school out of Jackson, Tenn., at 6 p.m. today. Brescia will take on Alaska-Fairbanks, an NCAA Division II school, in the nightcap at approximately 8.

The teams switch opponents Saturday, with Brescia taking on Lambuth and KWC going against Alaska-Fairbanks.

"Fairbanks has always been a very good Division II school," Lee said. "They've got a lot of kids from the Chicago area on their team, and they wanted to come to the Midwest and give those kids a chance to play close to home."

Lee is looking for better defense and more attention to game preparation from his Panthers going into the two games.

Those were the areas of most concern to the coach after KWC beat Bryan 71-57 Tuesday night with lackluster efforts on both the defensive end of the floor and on the glass.

"Read the scouting reports and watch film," said Lee of his basic requirements.

The Panthers should have good news on the personnel front this Thanksgiving weekend.

Desmond Stephens is expected to start at point guard after missing the last two games with tender hamstring muscles. Andree' Wilson should also be back after sitting out a two-game suspension, and Willie Richardson is also scheduled to return after nursing some injury problems.

Wilson will provide depth at forward, while Richardson will do the same in the backcourt.

"We just need to get some athletes back," Lee said.

Stephens being out allowed Travis Owsley to get some valuable experience running the team at the point the last two games.

"I ran the offense a lot in practice last year," said Owsley of his redshirt season. "I played against the older guys, and that helped me. One of the things we've focused on this season is executing the offense."

KWC will see a team in Lambuth that has a lot of scoring potential.

The Eagles have five players averaging in double figures. Shaun Merriweather leads the team with 13 points a game. Chris Stokes, Xavier Price and Antwan Long each score 12 points a game. Nakeem Floyd averages 11.9.

Brescia will bring a 3-2 record into the Owensboro Classic. Coach Joe Pechota's ballclub got a huge boost when Andrew Howard broke out for 29 points to lead the Bearcats to an 83-71 win over Indiana Institute of Technology on Tuesday night.

Howard and Owsley were teammates at Owensboro Catholic.

"You can see two unbelievable players in Howard and (Brescia's Doug) Denton," Pechota said. "Their names are all over the record books, and to have those kids stay at home, do well in the classroom, both are four-year captains, both have scored over 1,000 points. I think even Kentucky Wesleyan fans can appreciate good players like these guys."

Alaska-Fairbanks (1-2) is led by Parrish West and Emmanuel Jenkins, who were named to the All-Tournament team in last week's Fairbanks Youth Sports Alaska Invitational.

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