Stinson's 3s ignite KWC's rout - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Box Score

Todd Lee didn't rant and rave at his Kentucky Wesleyan College basketball team at halftime of Thursday night's game against Asbury, which trailed by just 10 points at intermission.

"I told the guys, 'You have to do it,' " Lee said. "Fortunately, they went back out and played at the level we're capable of playing."

The No. 25 Panthers (9-1) got three 3-pointers from Marico Stinson in a 20-0 blitz over the first 61/2 minutes of the second half to bury the NAIA Eagles 90-47 before a sparse crowd at the Sportscenter.

"Marico is an excellent shooter," Lee said. "When he receives the ball ready to shoot, he can find a rhythm and hit three or four 3-pointers in succession. That's what happened tonight, and it sort of ignited us there to start the second half."

Once the fuse was lit, there was no stopping the explosion for Wesleyan, which cruised to its ninth consecutive victory.

After a basket by Phillip Morrison finally broke the second-half ice for Asbury, six different Panthers scored in a 13-3 run that pushed KWC in front 70-32 with just under 10 minutes to play.

Wesleyan emptied its bench down the stretch and twice led by the final 43-point margin of victory.

"We did a good job of slowing the tempo in the first half," Asbury coach Will Shouse said, "but you've really got to give Kentucky Wesleyan credit for the way they came out and took it to us in the second half.

"They're so talented, inside and out, that you can't really double-team them or play much help defense. They got the pace to their liking right from the start in the second half, and pretty much wrapped it up then and there. They're an excellent team."

In the first half, Asbury -- playing without two starters (one was injured and the second missed the game for personal reasons) -- held its own against KWC.

The Panthers were able to stretch their lead to 13 points on a power putback by Breland McKnight at 0:25, but a deep, corner 3-pointer at the buzzer by Brock Hurtle pulled the Eagles within 37-27 at intermission.

KWC hit just 39 percent from the field and 55 percent from the foul stripe in the first 20 minutes.

"We just didn't come out ready to play," Lee said. "Our team got impatient, gambled too much and tried to get the game over with too quick.

"Asbury came out and did what they needed to do to stay in the game."

The Panthers were considerably sharper in the second half, making 63 percent of their floor shots (19-of-30), including 8-of-16 accuracy from 3-point range.

Wesleyan's superior height, bulk and leaping ability were simply too much for the shorthanded Eagles to contend with -- the Panthers dominating the rebounding by a 52-22 margin.

KWC was led by Desmond Stephens, who scored 16 points and dished six assists in just 20 minutes. Stinson scored 14 points, and Maros Zuffa added 11. Chris Williams, despite an off-night shooting (2-of-8), paced the Panthers with 10 rebounds.

Morrison, a 5-foot-11 junior guard who entered the contest averaging 25.4 points, led Asbury (8-4) with 16 points, but made just 5-of-18 floor shots. He added four assists. The Eagles also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Cory Britt.

Kentucky Wesleyan hosts Lake Erie at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the second half of a women/men doubleheader at the Sportscenter.

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