Panthers overcome slow start to beat No. 6 Bellarmine - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Box Score

Once the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team shook off the rust Saturday, No. 6 Bellarmine was no match.

The Panthers rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the first half to post an impressive 81-65 win over the Knights at the Sportscenter.

"I think part of the slow start might have had to do with us having had a week off," KWC coach Todd Lee said. "With several new guys, it's better to play every few days to keep their focus. Bellarmine came in with a focus."

After losing at Southern Indiana on Thursday, Bellarmine was trying to avoid a road sweep to open its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule. But Lee believed taking care of business at home was equally critical for the Panthers, who were making their GLVC season debut.

"It's so hard to win on the road in this conference that you have to defend home, against anyone," he said. "And it's a great win against a nationally ranked team."

KWC (7-1, 1-0) was led by Desmond Stephens' game-high 23 points. He also was the catalyst for getting others involved in the offense with a game-high six assists.

But the W was all Stephens cared about.

"How many points I score doesn't matter," he said. "It's much bigger that we beat the No. 6 team. I just want the win."

KWC looked in for a long night when Luke Sprague converted off an offensive rebound to put Bellarmine (4-2, 0-2) ahead 24-13 with less than nine minutes remaining in the first half. The Panthers halted Bellarmine's momentum with a 7-0 run that briefly sparked the crowd, but the Knights answered with a 10-3 spurt that pushed the lead to 34-23 with just over two minutes to play.

"We don't cut hard all the time, don't sustain our offense and we shoot quick shots; we weren't running or screening," said Lee of the first-half offensive woes, which were compounded by the Panthers' struggles on the glass. "We were getting outrebounded at halftime by a huge margin, but we did a much better job of that in the second half."

The Panthers' key run started with 2:02 left in the first half, when Maros Zuffa, who scored 12 points, hit two free throws. He followed with a 3-pointer on their next possession to cut the deficit to 34-28.

After Bellarmine hit 1-of-2 free throws, the Panthers converted two charity shots, then Marico Stinson, who scored 15 points, closed the half with a 3-pointer that cut the Knights' halftime lead to 35-33.

"They shot 61 percent in the first half and we shot 39 percent, and we're down two -- that's huge," Lee said. "We didn't play well in the first half, but we hung in there."

Lee had much more to be pleased with in the second half. The Panthers attacked the boards -- finishing with a 32-26 rebounding edge -- and the offense produced several good looks, which helped them rally to shoot 47 percent (27-of-58) overall from the field, 37 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point range.

KWC took the lead for good when Kwan Waller drained a 3-pointer with 13:35 remaining that pushed it ahead 48-46. That started a 14-4 run that extended the lead to 59-50 with 10:31 to play.

Bellarmine fought back to within 64-58 when Braydon Hobbs hit a 3-pointer, but the Panthers turned up the defensive heat and went on an 11-3 run that slammed the door.

"I was pleased with our hustle on defense," said Lee, whose club forced the Knights into 21 turnovers. "We got our hands on a lot of balls."

Bellarmine shot 54 percent (23-of-43) from the field and made 5-of-17 3-pointers (29 percent). Jeremy Kendle scored a team-high 14 points with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Print Friendly Version