Box Score
The scoreboard and stat sheet would tell you it was a pretty good night for Kentucky Wesleyan College against Kentucky State on Thursday night.
The No. 16 Panthers (5-0) disposed of the Thorobreds, 84-62, at the Sportscenter.
Dominique Dawson and
Dazmond Starke both recorded double-doubles in the win.
But like any coach, KWC's Todd Lee found plenty of flaws in his team.
"I thought we were soft," Lee said. "I didn't think we were ready to play. We were undisciplined. We were outrebounded (offensively) by a team that's been outrebounded by 10 coming into this game. They're getting outrebounded on the offensive end by 26. They outrebounded us by five on the offensive end. They played harder than we did."
Kentucky State (2-4), despite being shorthanded with just eight players, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to KWC's 10 and trailed in the final total by just six, 41-36. KSU had four players score in double figures, led by Quentin Henderson's 16 points.
But KWC was still able to use its superior size and depth, despite being shorthanded as well with injuries to seniors
Cornbread Walker and
Kreig Oxley, to overpower the Thorobreds.
KWC led nearly the whole game, aside from a one-point KSU lead in the first two minutes.
The Panthers took a 10-point lead into halftime and opened the second half with a 9-1 run.
After taking a 43-31 lead on a
Lucas Barker 3-pointer, KWC stayed up by double figures the remainder of the game.
"The problem was every time I put somebody in, they made a (mental) mistake or they didn't go hard or they weren't doing what they're supposed to do," Lee said. "I had to keep rotating. Obviously, we're missing two starters. We've got some guys hurt and the guys who played did not play well, especially in the first half.
"I thought we played better in the second half. We defended, even though the stats don't show it. I thought we defended a little better in the second half. But we got outrebounded and it was hard to compete and wear them down because we didn't have enough guys making the correct plays."
Lee announced this week that Walker would be sidelined two to four weeks, if not longer, with a partially torn ligament in his ankle. Oxley, still nursing a turf toe injury, dressed. Lee said it's unlikely that Oxley will get much playing time until he's fully healthy.
"He's not moving real well, so I don't think he'll be with us for a while," Lee said. "That would be my guess."
Due to being thin at the guard position, former Muhlenberg County star Jake Griffin, a freshman walk-on, got his first "meaningful minutes" as Lee called it. He played 14 minutes and buried a 3-pointer, the only shot he took all game, to finish with three points.
"He competed. He's a tough young man," Lee said. "That was a bright spot."
Lee also thought
Rico Ferguson defended well, which was something else positive to see.
Dawson finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Starke finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The two often substitute in and out for each other and were able to provide stability in the post against an undersized KSU team.
Lee was happy with how they were able to take advantage of the mismatch.
"We're rotating Daz and Dom and they've been doing a good job," Lee said. "Between the two of them, they had 27 (points) and 21 (rebounds)."
