Box Score
Boxing out and rebounding were major points hammered on in the two team meetings that Coach Todd Lee had with the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team since it was beaten for the first time this season Monday night at the University of Southern Indiana.
The Panthers took those meetings to heart collectively and controlled the glass, among other things, on the way to an 84-61 win over Saint Joseph's on Thursday night at the Sportscenter.
“It had been a big problem for awhile,” Lee said following KWC's win over the Pumas. “We told them when the shot goes up, you find a man, hit a man, then locate the ball. What we had been doing is when the shot went up, we were standing and watching.”
No. 1 KWC (15-1, 7-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference) was bigger inside than St. Joe's, and, along with added emphasis on the rebounding part of the game, earned a 44-32 advantage on the glass.
Dominique Dawson came off the bench to pull down a game-high nine rebounds for the Panthers.
Marseilles Stewart and
Cardell McFarland each claimed eight rebounds.
“The coaches had gotten on us about boxing out after Monday,” said McFarland, who scored a game-high 27 points. “Everybody realized after that game that we can't just outscore everybody.
“We defended really well. We boxed out. I think this was the best rebounding game we've had.”
McFarland had a very good night shooting the ball, hitting 8-of-11 from the field, both of his 3-point tries and 9-of-10 free throws. McFarland also had two assists, a steal and a turnover in 30 minutes.
The senior was not happy with the one turnover on his stat line.
“All good point guards don't turn the ball over,” McFarland said. “My assist-to-turnover ratio last year wasn't so good, and I didn't want to be careless with the ball this year.”
Anthony Young was the other double-figure scorer for KWC with 14 points. Young was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line, and he had five rebounds, as did guard
Brandon Johnson.
Lee altered the starting lineup against St. Joe's (6-10, 1-7) because of defensive matchups. Stewart and
Kreig Oxley were starters in place of
Cornbread Walker and Dawson.
“It doesn't matter who starts,” Lee said. “And we subbed more in this game.”
The Panthers jumped out to a 21-9 lead, which ballooned to 27-11 and finally 44-24 at the half.
They made 26-of-54 from the floor for 48 percent. They were 5-of-15 from 3-point range (33 percent) and 27-of-34 from the free-throw line for 79 percent.
KWC was very strong defensively against St. Joe's. It limited the Pumas to 22-of-65 shooting from the field for 34 percent, and they made just 4-of-23 on 3-pointers for 17 percent. Damon Ellison's 18 points led St. Joe's.
KWC now awaits Indianapolis (13-3, 6-2) on Saturday. Indy beat No. 7 Southern Indiana 59-56 on Thursday at Evansville.
