Box Score
It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.
Thanks to some clutch play down the stretch by a few upperclassmen, the Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team escaped with an 89-87 win over Georgetown in the team's first exhibition game of the season on Thursday at the Sportscenter.
Junior Rico Ferguson's basket with 3.1 seconds left to play provided the difference.
"We've got a long way to go defensively with how physical we are," said KWC coach Todd Lee, whose team was outscored 46-42 in the paint. "We've got to get a lot tougher. We've had nine days of practice, and there's a lot of things that you can pick up from a good game like this to see where you need to improve."
Georgetown held a 67-63 lead over KWC with just 8:21 left to play when seniors Dazmond Starke, Cornbread Walker and Kreig Oxley took charge.
After Dominique Dawson made one-of-two free throws, Starke threw down a dunk and was fouled. He hit his free throw to tie the game at 67.
Oxley and Walker both hit 3s, then Oxley took a charge on the defensive end. On the Panthers' next possession, Oxley buried another 3 to give KWC a 76-71 lead with 5:20 left to play.
"Kreig's a leader," Lee said. "He's a very calming influence out there. When things are going wild, he just looks at you and says, 'What do you want to run?' He makes plays. His dad's a high school coach, and he plays like a coach's son. He's one of our main leaders, and he does a lot of it very quietly. Guys look to him because he is that calming influence out there."
The Tigers held close, though, and both teams traded baskets down the stretch. KWC was forced to play the final two minutes without Walker, who fouled out with 12 points.
A Dawson put-back, then a steal by Oxley led to Dawson getting fouled and making one-of-two free throws, which put KWC up 87-85. Georgetown's Vic Thomas tied the game with a lay-up, making it 87-87 with just 22 seconds left.
That's when Ferguson drove to the basket for the game-winning bucket. Georgetown was unable to get a shot off, as Lucas Barker stole a pass as time expired.
"We didn't play very well, but coming out against a team like that, they're going to push you for 40 minutes, if not more," said Oxley, who finished with 12 points. "We got down, and we were very resilient. We came back, worked hard, and they pushed us for it."
KWC had five players in double figures, led by Starke's 16 points.
The Panthers have two more exhibition games, Oct. 30 at South Carolina and Nov. 3 at Western Kentucky, before opening the season at home on Nov. 9 against Union.
