Box Score
It was a Monday night where very little went right for Kentucky Wesleyan College.
And it happened at a very bad time and place for the Panthers.
No. 7 University of Southern Indiana earned a 72-59 win over No. 2 KWC in front of a soldout crowd of 2,600 at the PAC Arena.
The arch rival Screaming Eagles did it with defensive intensity, rebounding, and running their offense the way they wanted.
“We lacked so much poise on the offensive end,” KWC coach Todd Lee said after the Panthers lost for the first time in 15 games this season. “We were in and out of possessions so quick, then we had to turn around and guard for 20 to 25 seconds. There were only eight or 10 possessions where we swung the ball from side to side the way we needed to.”
There were several important stats in the game, but the one of the most telling were the assists for each team. USI had 15 assists, KWC had a mere three.
“There was way too much one-on-one,” KWC senior guard Cardell McFarland said. “We've got to swing the ball.”
McFarland finished with 21 points, which was game-high, but he didn't get nearly enough consistent help.
Brandon Johnson finished with 12 points, and Anthony Young was held to 11 points and grabbed three rebounds.
“Anthony came in really hot, and we guarded him with a lot of guys,” USI coach Rodney Watson said. “We had to limit their second shots.”
Many of KWC's possessions were one shot and out, and USI seemed to be better getting contested rebounds than the Panthers were.
USI outrebounded KWC 32-22.
“When you shoot as early in the clock as we were, you're not moving their bodies around very much,” Lee said. “They're a very good defensive team.”
Good enough to keep a KWC team that had been averaging 93 points a game from breaking 60. It was obviously a season-low scoring total for KWC.
“We disrupted their offensive rhythm,” Watson said. “We wanted to limit their guards' penetration, but I still thought they got to where they wanted to go. We did block some shots that we converted into baskets.”
One of those instances came after KWC had cut a 40-32 halftime deficit to 41-36 in the first two minutes of the second half. USI got a basket from Kenyon Smith to make it 43-36, then Isaac McClure blocked a McFarland shot and Smith converted again on the run to push USI to a 45-36 lead.
KWC cut the lead to six, 48-42, one more time, but that was as close as it would get over the last 12 minutes.
USI blocked seven shots in the game, and ran its record to 14-1, 6-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, the same as KWC.
KWC made 21-of-47 from the floor for 44.7 percent, but struggled from 3-point range, hitting just 2-of-13 for 15 percent.
USI drained long 3-pointers from the start, with Brandon Hogg making two deep 3s on USI's first two possessions. Hogg finished with 16 points, tying him for team honors with sophomore guard Lawrence Thomas. Isaac McClure added 10 points for USI.
The Screaming Eagles nailed 7-of-15 on 3-pointers for 46.7 percent. They were 27-of-51 from the floor for 52.9 percent.
Another major factor for USI was its bench, which outscored KWC's reserves 23-0.
“They're deeper than we are,” Lee said. “They were tougher. They were more of a team than we were. They deserved to win the game.”
KWC will host Saint Joseph's on Thursday at 7:30.
