KWC, Indy hope to rebound from losses - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

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The Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team meets Indianapolis today in a matchup of two Great Lakes Valley Conference teams looking to get back in the victory column.

The 13th-ranked Panthers (18-3, 7-2) travel to Indianapolis for a 2 p.m. contest against the Greyhounds (10-8, 4-5).

Both teams are coming off losses Thursday night.

KWC dropped a 67-62 decision at Northern Kentucky, while Indianapolis played No. 4 Southern Indiana close before falling 78-70 at home.

At least the Greyhounds won't have a dominant post presence like NKU had in 6-foot-9, 250-pound David Palmer, who gave KWC fits with his size and athletic ability.

Indianapolis presents a different set of challenges.

The Greyhounds aren't big overall, but they are quick, balanced offensively and will try to push the ball at every opportunity

"They're capable of beating anybody in our league," KWC coach Todd Lee said. "They've got a lot of guys that are about the same size. They're interchangeable and cause some trouble with matchups.

"They can put their No. 4 man out on the floor, or they can go small and have five perimeter players on the court."

Lee singled out point guard Darius Adams (18 points per game) as one player the Panthers will have to contain.

Dewann Squires (6-5, 14 ppg) and Nate Blank (6-4, 11 ppg) are also scoring threats and can shoot from 3-point range.

Indianapolis shoots 33 percent from behind the arc.

Getting back in transition will be a defensive key for KWC, Lee said. The matchup also presents an opportunity for the Panthers' inside game, with 6-7 center Jay Ivey and 6-5 forward Chris Williams, to score and rebound.

The Panthers are outrebounding the opposition by nine boards a game.

KWC also counters with its own strong guard play and balanced offense as Desmond Stephens is averaging 17 points a game. Marico Stinson, Williams and Andree' Wilson are each at 11 points per game.

This will be the third game out of five in the biggest road swing for KWC this season. Picking up as many wins as possible will help the Panthers, who still have games left on the road against USI and Bellarmine to close out the regular season next month.

"We went almost two and a half months without losing a game and now we've lost twice in the last week and a half," Lee said. "This is a big game for us. We've got three more games on the road before we get home, so we have to do the best job we can to win some of these games."

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