Young, Johnson drive KWC past Indy - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

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Anthony Young returned to his hometown and put on a show for Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday night.

The 6-foot-7, 255-pound senior forward produced 26 points, 15 rebounds and three steals as the No. 7 Panthers upended Indianapolis 84-67 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference basketball game at Nicoson Hall in Indianapolis.

KWC, avenging a three-point, last-second home loss to the Greyhounds last month, improve to 19-3 overall and 9-3 in the GLVC. Unranked Indianapolis, losing for only the second time at home this season, slips to 15-5, 8-4.

“Anthony was playing in front of a lot of his family and friends, and he really carried the load for us,” Wesleyan head coach Todd Lee said. “What really stands out to me are those 15 rebounds -- that kind of effort and performance for us on the boards was really big for us.”

Equally impressive was Panther senior guard Brandon Johnson, who had 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Moreover, he held Indy's Adrian Moss — who burned the Panthers with 27 points in the first meeting — to just two points on 1-of-9 shooting.

“Brandon had the toughest assignment all night long against one of the best guards in the country in Adrian Moss,” Lee said. “Brandon really locked him up defensively, and that was obviously very big for us.”

KWC trailed only once at 8-7 early in the contest. The Panthers led 37-26 at intermission and built their lead to 16 points early in the second half, before Reece Cheatham keyed a rally that pulled the Greyhounds within three with 13 minutes to play.

The Panthers responded to the challenge, however, and pulled away late.

In addition to the production from Young and Johnson, Kentucky Wesleyan got 13 points and five assists from Kreig Oxley, 12 points and three steals from Marseilles Stewart, and 12 points from Cornbread Walker.

Wesleyan outrebounded Indy 40-32, helping offset 24 floor mistakes.

Cheatham led the Greyhounds with a game-best 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers. Miles Mitchell was Indy's only other double-digit scorer, however, finishing with 10 points. Joe Daniels added seven rebounds and Moss dished five assists.

KWC shot 54 percent from the field, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, and drilled 28-of-35 free throws (80 percent).

Indy struggled in all shooting areas, hitting just 39 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3-point range, and 46 percent from the foul stripe.

The Panthers return to the hardwood at 3 p.m. on Saturday when they visit Saint Joseph's.

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