Wesleyan hopes to keep streak alive - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

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The streak lives for the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team.

The 13th-ranked Panthers put a 15-game winning streak on the line today when they visit Missouri S&T, and KWC coach Todd Lee expects his fast-maturing team to be as focused as it was during Thursday's 79-67 victory at No. 18 Drury.

"Our guys are starting to realize that each game is a separate entity," Lee said. "We were able to win at Drury and we were proud of that win, but it's on to the next game now. Win or lose, you have to move forward and put your energy and focus on the upcoming opponent, and that's S&T."

Even so, Lee acknowledges that the Panthers' performance against Drury was likely a turning point for his team.

"Well, it was our first true road game so I was anxious to see how we would react to that," Lee said. "What I was probably most proud of was the way we carried out the scouting report. That's an indication that the team trusts the coaching staff, and that's a big step forward -- especially for our younger guys."

Against Drury, KWC (15-1, 4-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference) got a huge lift from reserve center Andree' Wilson, a 6-foot-5 senior who produced 14 points and nine rebounds in just 19 minutes.

"He's effective for us because he's so active at both ends of the court," Lee said. "He's our best pure post-up player, he gets his hands on a lot of balls, gets a lot of tip-ins, things like that.

"Andree' has completely transformed his body since last season and, as a coach, it's really rewarding to see how much his hard work in the offseason has paid off for him. He's getting it done for us."

Also getting the job done against Drury was 5-8 senior point guard Desmond Stephens (23 points, five assists, four steals) and 6-5 junior forward Chris Williams (11 points, eight rebounds). Other starters for the Panthers include 6-7 junior center Jay Ivey, 6-5 junior shooting guard Marico Stinson and 6-4 senior guard Maros Zuffa.

Missouri S&T (5-8, 1-4) is coming off a 72-59 loss on Thursday to No. 8 Southern Indiana.

The Miners, under first-year coach Tim Glash, are a perimeter-oriented team led by 6-4 freshman swingman Bryce Foster (14 ppg). Other starters include 5-11 senior point guard A.J. Mandani, 6-2 junior shooting guard Mike Malat (11 ppg), 6-4 junior swingman Bryan Bundy (10 ppg, 4 rpg) and 6-7, 260-pound senior center Adam Knollmeyer (6 ppg, 5 rpg).

"Four of their five starters are very capable perimeter shooters," Lee said. "They set a lot of screens, and it will be essential that we battle through those screens and close out on the shooters.

"When they're shooting well from the outside, S&T is a very capable basketball team. They're good enough to beat us at their place if we don't come in focused and determined to take care of business."

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