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Panthers hold off Indy
Kentucky Wesleyan College’s Chris Williams hits the floor as Desmond Stephens picks up the ball while under pressure from Indianapolis’ Paul Corsaro during the first half of the Panthers’ 75-70 win over the Greyhounds on Thursday night at the Sportscenter. John Dunham, Messenger-Inquirer

Panthers hold off Indy

Box Score

A clutch performance from the foul line helped the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team turn back Indianapolis' comeback bid Thursday night.

The eighth-ranked Panthers made 13-of-16 free throws in the final 1:26 to seal a 75-70 win over the Greyhounds at the Sportscenter.

"That was great," said KWC coach Todd Lee of his team's performance down the stretch, which was led by senior center Andree' Wilson making 6-of-6 attempts. "There's not too many post players you try to get the ball to in press break."

Wilson's work from the charity stripe was a fitting end to an overall outstanding performance. He equaled his career-high with 24 points, added four rebounds and two steals, and was a key contributor to the Panthers' solid defensive effort.

"We need Andreé to be a post scorer," Lee said. "We're putting more emphasis on getting him the ball in the post."

KWC (24-3, 13-2 Great Lakes Valley Conference) got its usual strong effort from point guard Desmond Stephens, who scored 14 points with six assists. But Stephens was one of several Panthers who struggled to find the range from behind the 3-point arc, as they made just 5-of-20 overall (25 percent), which brought their field-goal shooting down to 44.2 percent (23-of-52).

"Indianapolis was switching up defenses, going zone with substitutions, and we just didn't knock down the shots," said Lee, who was satisfied with the looks, if not the timing. "We shot the ball too early (in the possession) in the first half. We needed to move the ball more."

Ironically, some of KWC's first-half offensive woes was the result of its great start. The Panthers opened with a 12-0 run, which Lee didn't really want to see.

"That's dangerous," said Lee of the false sense of superiority. "I've actually sat in this locker room and said to myself 'It would be good if they got out to a six-point lead,' because you just know it's not going to last. They're going to dig in, and they did. They sub in usual starters (Darius) Adams and (Sergey) Struck, and they started playing better."

Indianapolis (12-12, 6-9) cut its deficit to 18-16 when Larry Woods scored on a strong low-post move with 9:39 left in the first half. But Shawn Rouse came off the bench to score nine straight points for KWC that helped it reclaim the momentum and hold a 31-27 lead at halftime.

"I thought our defense in the first half was good, but we gave up too many offensive rebounds," said Lee, whose club lost the overall rebounding battle 35-31. "I knew that would be a point of emphasis for them because we won the boards (in a win at Indianapolis)."

Indianapolis took its first lead when Ryan Sims hit a layup that pushed it ahead 32-31. The Greyhounds led 34-33 when KWC started on a 9-0 run that Wilson capped with a pair of free throws with 13:32 to play.

The Panthers never trailed thereafter.

Indianapolis shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field -- 6-of-20 from 3-point range (30 percent). The Greyhounds were led by Adams' 26 points.

KWC returns to action when it hosts Northern Kentucky at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
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