Box Score
This time it was
Cardell McFarland's turn to rule the first half for Kentucky Wesleyan College.
McFarland had a perfect first half on the way to 19 points against Hiwassee on Tuesday night. He was 7-for-7 from the floor, made the lone 3 that he took, and drained all four of his free throws.
That lifted KWC to a 60-21 halftime advantage on the way to a 115-73 victory at the Sportscenter. The No. 15 Panthers are 2-0 on the young season.
McFarland finished with 24 points and still only missed two shots from the field and made all seven of his free throws.
“I don't know if I've ever been perfect in a half before, I just go out and play,” said McFarland, who also helped key some defensive pressure that helped get KWC going midway through the first half.
“Cardell was active, and our guards really picked us up,” Lee said. “
Brandon Johnson just started picking their guards up when they took the ball in. Cardell got some deflections and that helped get us running.”
KWC doesn't press much, but Johnson felt he needed to do something to speed up tempo, since the Panthers had started the game slowly.
“We needed something to energize the team,” said Johnson, who scored seven points and made all three of his shots from the floor. “I thought picking up their guards full court would speed them up.”
McFarland and
Anthony Young were each credited with three steals.
Young had another huge scoring night, going for a second straight double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds.
“Anthony didn't have his shot going early, but he maintained his defense and got some deflections and rebounds,” Lee said.
The Panthers shot well for the second straight game, but didn't move the ball in the first half as well as Lee would have liked.
“We held the ball too much in the halfcourt,” Lee said.
KWC made 33-of-60 from the floor for 55 percent. It was also 11-of-22 from 3-point range for 50 percent. KWC hit 38-of-46 free throws for 82.6 percent.
The Panthers held Hiwassee (3-5) to 38 percent from the field (24-of-63).
It was the second straight victory for the panthers against a way-overmatched opponent. Hiwassee looked able to compete but only for about the first three or four minutes.
Kreig Oxley drained three long-range 3-pointers off the bench in a sequence that put Hiwassee away. KWC went from clinging to a 19-16 lead to a 29-16 advantage.
KWC didn't cool off over the next four minutes.
Young rattled in a side 3, Luke Shelly nailed a corner 3 off a strong baseline drive and pass across court from Johnson, McFarland got the first of two layups off turnovers, and Devonte Maymon scored on a tough inside drive.
Maymon scored 16 points off the bench for KWC, and
Dominique Dawson added 11 points and eight rebounds in 13 minutes.
That flurry helped push the Panthers to a 47-18 lead and left them thinking of ways to improve before playing back-to-back nights this weekend.
KWC will face its first real test of the young season in the John Worth Insurance-Hampton Inn Owensboro Classic. The Panthers will meet Clark Atlanta on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Bloomfield on Saturday at 8 p.m.
