Game Notes
Back on the winning track following Thursday's 23-point conquest of visiting Saint Joseph's, No. 1 Kentucky Wesleyan faces a stiff test this afternoon against invading Indianapolis.
While the Panthers were defeating the Pumas, the upstart Greyhounds were posting one of their best road victories in years -- knocking off No. 7 Southern Indiana 59-56 in Evansville.
Against USI, the Greyhounds (13-3, 5-2 Great Lakes Valley Conference) were paced by Adrian Moss (21 points, four steals) and Wilbur O'Neal (14 points, eight rebounds). Indy put the defensive clamps on the Screaming Eagles, who were limited to 36 percent shooting and forced into 20 turnovers.
“Obviously, Indy is a very good basketball team,” KWC head coach Todd Lee said. “They're unranked officially, but they are definitely a Top 25 team, if not a Top 15 or Top 10 team. We've got our work cut out for us in this one.
“Moss is as good a guard as there is in our league, and O'Neal is as big and strong as any player in our league.”
A quick and fast 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior guard, Moss leads Indianapolis with an average of 20 points per game.
Other Indy starters include 5-11 sophomore Reece Cheatham (13 ppg), O'Neal (13 ppg, 6 rpg), a 6-7, 245-pound senior center, 6-2 sophomore guard Miles Mitchell (8 ppg) and 6-7 sophomore forward Cody Vest (6 ppg).
The Greyhounds are coached by former Southern Indiana star Stan Gouard.
“Stan's done a great job with their program,” Lee said. “He's got a tight rotation of eight players and Indy is getting thejob done at the defensive end and on the boards.
“They're a dangerous team because they are capable of winning a game in the 50s or winning the game in the 90s. They can score the basketball when they need to, and they're able to perform well in either a slow-paced or fast-paced game. They're very versatile that way.”
Wesleyan (15-1, 7-1) -- following Monday's 72-57 loss at USI -- bounced back in fine fashion with its 84-61 defeat of Saint Joseph's.
Senior guard Cardell McFarland led the way with a game-best 27 points to go with eight rebounds, and senior forward Anthony Young contributed 14 points, despite making only 3-of-11 shot attempts.
“It was a really good team victory for us,” Lee said. “We had a lot of guys contributing in a lot of different ways. Even guys who weren't scoring much were doing other things to help us win the basketball game. That's what's what we're looking for every game, and that's certainly what we need again against Indianapolis.”
Beaten soundly on the boards at USI (32-22), the Panthers regrouped to outrebound the Pumas by a 44-32 margin.
In addition to McFarland (21 ppg, 3 apg) and Young (20 ppg, 7 rpg), the Panthers will start 5-11 senior guard Brandon Johnson (10 ppg, 3 apg), 6-8 sophomore center Dominique Dawson (9 ppg, 7 rpg) and 6-3 junior guard Cornbread Walker (8 ppg, 3 rpg).
Wesleyan's reserve unit is led by 6-3 senior forward Marseilles Stewart ( 8 ppg, 4 rpg)
