Second-half charge lifts Panthers over Miners - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

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Kentucky Wesleyan College might not have been ready from the opening tip, but it certainly got going after halftime to drop Missouri S&T 71-60 in men's basketball Saturday in Rolla, Mo.

The victory pushed the No. 13 team in NCAA Division II to 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The 16 wins in a row ties for the 10th-best streak in KWC history.

"I didn't think we were ready," Wesleyan coach Todd Lee said. "We missed some assignments that we had worked on in practice the day before. That's a sign we weren't ready to play. They outrebounded us in the first half. That was another sign we weren't ready to play."

The Panthers trailed 33-29 at the break, but they were more focused for the second 20 minutes, especially after Lee altered the starting lineup.

Andree' Wilson and Kwan Waller replaced Marico Stinson and Jay Ivey, and the results were good ultimately for all four players involved.

"Kwan and Andreé did a good job for us to start the half," Lee said. "Jay and Rico also did better when they came back in. Everybody taken out of the game responded well in the second half."

Another player off the bench who performed well for the Panthers was Shawn Rouse, who had a basket midway through the second half to push KWC in front 54-50 and help to start a run that ultimately put down the Miners.

"Shawn also did a good job for us defensively," Lee said.

The Panthers got major production from several familiar players.

Chris Williams had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Desmond Stephens shook off a 1-for-10 shooting start to finish with 16 points, nine assists and no turnovers.

"I knew Desmond wouldn't go 2-for-20, so I felt OK at halftime," Lee said. "Chris has been rebounding well for us all year."

Stephens finished 6-of-20 for the game and hit 4-of-8 free throws. Stinson scored 12 points and was 4-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-3 on 3-point tries.

KWC made 26-of-59 from the floor for 44 percent. The Panthers were 6-of-17 on 3-pointers for 35 percent. They struggled from the free-throw line, hitting 13-of-21 for 62 percent.

They commanded the glass with a 42-27 rebounding advantage.

S&T made 21-of-49 from the floor for 43 percent and 3-of-10 on 3-pointers. It also made 15-of-22 foul shots in falling to 5-9, 1-5 in the conference.

The Panthers face a significant challenge Thursday night when the eighth-ranked University of Southern Indiana comes to the Sportscenter.

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