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Waller, Young lead KWC past Parkside
Kwan Waller scores a game high 24 poiints. Photo by the Messenger-Inquirer.

Waller, Young lead KWC past Parkside

Box Score

Kwan Waller's game-high 24 points and Anthony Young's double-double led the 10th-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team to an 81-73 overtime win over Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday afternoon at DeSimone Gymnasium in Somers, Wisc.

The Panthers improved to 8-1 overall, 1-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Rangers dropped to 4-6, 1-2.

"With the long layoff, it was probably the type of game I expected, up and down (performance)," said KWC coach Todd Lee, whose squad hadn't played since Dec. 16. "But we held our composure once they came back and tied it."

KWC appeared in control when Waller hit a free throw with 16:28 left in the second half that extended its lead to 42-27. But Wisconsin-Parkside caught fire and went on a 23-8 run to pull even at 50 with 9:09 to play.

"We've got a lot of new guys, and right now, we don't have a sense of urgency when we're ahead," Lee said. "We don't have guys who have been through it. When we get up, we relax. We're not focusing on getting it done."

The Panthers recovered to pull back ahead 66-58 on a 3-pointer by Chris Williams with 4:04 remaining.

Wisconsin-Parkside, however, put the defensive clamps on the Panthers for the rest of regulation and closed with an 8-0 run that forced overtime.

"The second half we didn't play defense," said Lee, pointing to the Rangers hitting 66.7 percent of their second-half shots as evidence. "(Jeremy) Saffold got hot, and we didn't do a good job on (Tim) Baines inside."

A jump shot by Cardell McFarland pushed the Panthers in front 72-66 with 2:09 left in overtime. Waller answered a Saffold 3-pointer with a trey to keep the margin at six, then Williams made a layup inside a minute remaining that pushed the lead to 77-69.

The Panthers made 4-of-4 free throws in the last 45 seconds to seal the win.

"While we don't have a sense of urgency when winning, we have shown the ability to compete when we're down or our backs are against the wall," said Lee of how his club bounced back in overtime.

Lee was also pleased with Brandon Johnson and McFarland combining for 13 assists, with just three turnovers. It has been a point of emphasis for the Panthers.

"We've been struggling with that ratio (assists to turnovers), but we took care of the ball for the most part," said Lee, whose club committed 12 turnovers.

Young had 21 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. McFarland and Williams each finished with 12 points.

KWC made 28-of-60 shots (46.7 percent) from the field -- including 9-of-22 3-pointers (40.9 percent). The Panthers hit 16-of-19 free throws (84.2 percent).

Wisconsin-Parkside shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from 3-point range. The Rangers made 6-of-10 free throws (60 percent).

Saffold scored 22 points, and Leneal Harris added 18.

KWC returns to action when it visits Saint Joseph's at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Rensselaer, Ind.
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