If this had been a prize fight, a referee would have stopped it in the early rounds — it was a basketball game, however, so they played on.
Kentucky Wesleyan shot 61 percent in the first half, zoomed to a 24-point lead by intermission, then cruised home with a convincing 98-57 victory over Clark Atlanta in the first session of the John Worth Insurance/Hampton Inn Owensboro Classic before a sparse holiday crowd Friday night at the Sportscenter.
The victory vaulted No. 15 KWC to 3-0 entering tonight's game against Bloomfield (N.J.), which reached the Elite Eight in last season's NCAA Division II Tournament. Clark Atlanta, which also competed in last season's NCAA, fell to 1-4.
Wesleyan was led by the two-pronged attack of center
Dominique Dawson and guard
Cardell McFarland, who combined to hit 21-of-26 floor shots and score 53 points.
Dawson, who got several baskets via vicious tomahawk jams, was 11-of-13 from the field, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
“He practices hard and he brings that energy and focus with him to the game,” KWC head coach Todd Lee said of Dawson, a sophomore transfer from Minnesota. “He stays within himself, does what he does very well, and his teammates pick up on his hustle and want to get him the ball in scoring situations.”
McFarland, a senior preseason All-American, made 10-of-13 floor shots, all seven of his free throw attempts, and finished with 28 points, four assists, four rebounds and two blocks.
“One of our best offenses is when Cardell gets the ball out in the open court,” Lee said. “He did a great job attacking the basket and finishing in this one.”
The contest was competitive for nine minutes, before Wesleyan put together an 19-3 run midway through the first half to take a 34-17 lead and assume total control.
A 3-pointer by McFarland pushed KWC in front 41-23 with two minutes to play in the half, and moments later Clark Atlanta head coach Dale Brown -- a former star guard at Kentucky -- was whistled for two technicals and ejected at the 1:44 mark. McFarland proceeded to hit all four technical free throws.
“I thought we did a good job of maintaining our defensive intensity, for the most part,” Lee said. “Clark Atlanta is a very athletic team, and we felt like we needed to play good defense and rebound to be effective against them. We did a pretty good job in both areas.”
Trailing 49-25 at the half, Clark Atlanta never got closer than 22 points the rest of the way, as KWC methodically pulled away.
Wesleyan's largest lead of the game was the final score.
In addition to the production of Dawson and McFarland, KWC got 13 points and a game-best 12 rebounds from senior preseason All-American
Anthony Young. Reserve guard
Kreig Oxley had a game-best five steals.
In all, 11 Wesleyan players reached the scoring column.
Clark Atlanta was paced by Willis Brownlee, who had team-highs of 19 points and six rebounds. Brandon O'Brien tossed in 17 points and made four steals, and Dishone Gregory added 10 points.
Lee expects a tougher challenge tonight against Bloomfield.
“They're used to winning and they won't be intimidated in here -- it's important for our team to understand that,” Lee said. “They've got good, quick guards who can shoot the ball, and they've got a couple of interior players who are very solid.
“Bloomfield will be a significant test for us, and we need to be ready to go.”
Bloomfield (2-3) defeated Missouri-St. Louis 72-63 in Friday's second game.
The KWC-Bloomfield game is set to tip off at 8 p.m., and will follow a 5:30 matchup between Clark Atlanta and UMSL.
