Panthers blow out Norse by 17 - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Box Score

Kentucky Wesleyan obviously didn't get the memo that it wasn't supposed to win at Northern Kentucky on Thursday night.

The No. 7 Panthers, playing without injured senior guard Cardell McFarland — the leading scorer in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (21.1 ppg) — shot a sizzling 64 percent from the field in a dominant second half to stun the No. 9 Norse 74-57 at Highland Heights.

It was Northern's first loss in 12 games this season at the 9,400-seat Bank of Kentucky Center, and only the team's sixth loss in 56 games at the venue since it opened in 2008.

The Panthers improved to 16-2 overall and 8-2 in the GLVC, while NKU slipped to 15-3, 7-3.

“This is a tough place to play and Northern's a great team, but we came in here and battled,” said KWC head coach Todd Lee, whose team limited the Norse to 27 percent shooting in the second half. “We defended, we rebounded and we shared the basketball as a team.

“Anthony Young was a physical presence on the inside for us, and we had some guys step up for us and do things they haven't done all year — it was just a tremendous team victory.”

Young, who made 10-of-13 shots, including both of his 3-point attempts, finished with a game-high 29 points to lead the way, and junior Kreig Oxley — starting at the point for McFarland (out indefinitely with a foot injury — contributed 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and made only one turnover in 33 minutes.

“Kreig was outstanding,” Young said. “He hasn't played that much at the point, but we had confidence in his ability. He's not as fast as Cardell, but he was very steady and did a good job running the club. He played with confidence, and I think as a team we fed off his confidence out front.”

Wesleyan led just 36-35 at intermission, before tuning it up at both ends of the court in the second half.

NKU's Jon Van Hoose, who drilled four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the first half, failed to score a field goal in the second half — due in large part to the defense played by Aaron Gilstrap, who also contnbuted a pair of 3-point baskets while logging a season-high 25 minutes.

“Aaron's another player who really stepped up for us,” Lee said. “When you're in a situation like we find ourselves in (without McFarland), everyone has to contribute for the team to be successful. We got that tonight, and we're going to continue to need that as we move forward.”

KWC also got 13 points and eight assists from Brandon Johnson, eight rebounds and six blocks from Dominique Dawson, and seven rebounds off the bench from Marseilles Stewart.

Wesleyan finished at 57 percent from the field and outrebounded the Norse, 35-27.

The Panthers were again bit by the injury bug when backup point guard Travis Johnston, a redshirt freshman, suffered a first-half ankle injury and did not return. Johnston was to be evaluated today.

KWC returns to the hardwood on Saturday when it entertains defending national champion and top-ranked Bellarmine at the Sportscenter.

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