Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan's size and depth was no match for Union College on Friday night at the Sportscenter.
Using two key runs to open both halves, the Panthers (1-0) made easy work of the Bulldogs (4-2), 97-63, in its season opener.
KWC used its size and depth to wear down Union.
"We had the size advantage inside," coach Todd Lee said. "We wanted to go inside. If we missed a shot, I thought our guys did a good job of pounding the (offensive) boards early. Whether it was Donovan on Dom early, we got some offensive rebounds and did a gob job there."
KWC led by as many as 41 points, thanks in large part to an all-around effort from freshman point guard Lucas Barker. He scored 14 points, dished out six assists, stole five passes and grabbed five rebounds in 30 minutes of play.
The Panthers opened both halves on huge runs — a 20-4 to start the first half and a 15-2 run to begin the second.
Union made a run late in the first half and cut the lead down eight, 33-25, but that was short-lived.
A 3-pointer by Barker with three seconds left made it a 49-31 in favor of KWC.
Despite the lead for KWC, Union still shot 46 percent from the field and that was enough to concern Lee.
"I thought the first half, we didn't defend as well as we needed to," Lee said. "They shot (nearly) 50 percent from the field. We did do a good job on the boards. We haven't been able to shoot the ball from the perimeter the last couple games because we've been pressured so much.
Tonight, they played a little bit more zone and they didn't pressure us as much."
Lee credited Union for mixing up its defenses with different zones, saying his team had mostly seen man-to-man during the exhibition games. But it wasn't enough to slow the Panthers' offense.
In total, KWC was 64 percent (9-of-14) from 3-point range. Barker hit most of those, going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
"It was good to see Lucas Barker step up and knock down 3s," Lee said. "We haven't had opportunities to shoot a lot of 3s, so tonight guys stepped up and made 3s."
The Panthers dominated in nearly every facet of the game. They won the battle in the pain, outscoring the Bulldogs 54-18. The size advantage also led to a lopside rebounding total, with KWC finishing with 40 to Union's 19.
"That's the way we're going to have to be," Lee said of his team's balanced scoring. "We're going to have to have three, four, five guys in double figures. That's the way we're going to have to play. I expect that pretty much the whole year...really there's no drop off at all from our bench — our top eight, nine guys. We're going to have to be a balanced team."
