Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan coach Todd Lee said after a long break like his team just had, there's always a worry about how well they'll be able to shoot.
That was the least of the No. 13 Panthers' problems on Saturday against Lindsey Wilson College (12-2).
KWC (6-0) shot 61.9 percent from the field and buried six 3-pointers as a team, while six players finished in double figures in an 83-63 rout of Lindsey Wilson at the Sportscenter.
"It's just good to see that balance," Lee said. "We don't have anybody that's going to dominate the scoring. We need to shoot a high percentage, which we did…the concern was after a long break how you shoot the ball and what kind of rhythm you're in offensively. I thought we were in pretty good rhythm."
KWC never trailed in the game and the only time it was tied was early on when both teams were knotted at 5-5.
KWC hit all six of its 3-pointers in the first half, and three of them came from junior guard
Luke Shelley.
Lindsey Wilson never got closer than 14 in the second half as the Panthers, despite battling depth issues at the guard position, were still able to find ways to score.
With senior guards
Kreig Oxley and
Cornbread Walker already out due to injury, sophomore forward
Patrick Neel took a hard foul to the head and left the game with a deep cut on his forehead. He was sent to the hospital immediately for stitches, and the timetable for his return is uncertain, Lee said.
Oxley had an MRI on his injured toe yesterday and the results were negative, Lee said. He'll be in cast for two weeks and then will be reevaluated.
Lee said when one player goes down, the team adopts the "next man up" mentality. All but one player who played scored.
"I couldn't think of anybody who came in the game and didn't contribute," Lee said. "I thought everybody that came in played well. I thought our bench played well. That was good to see."
KWC was able to absorb 20 turnovers 23 points from the Blue Raiders off those turnovers to win. It may have helped that the Panthers won the battle in the paint, 40-32, and outrebounded Lindsey Wilson, 37-29.
The Panthers were 80.6 percent (25-of-31) on free throws and held Lindsey Wilson to just 13 percent (3-of-23) on 3-point attempts.
"That was a pretty good game to be a part of," Shelley said. "Everyone was clicking."
Freshman guard
Lucas Barker led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points and also dished out seven assists and had seven rebounds.
Daronte' Clark led Lindsey Wilson in scoring with 16 points and also pulled down four rebounds.
The Panthers now have just one day to prepare for Monday's game against Union (Tenn.).
"I thought we did a good job of preparing for (Lindsey Wilson)," Lee said. "I thought our preparation was good as far as what they run and how we wanted to guard it. We made some adjustments during the game which, at times this year, we haven't been able to do. I thought that was a step in the right direction."
