Panthers look to keep momentum going - Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Game Notes

No. 7 Kentucky Wesleyan College cleared a major hurdle Thursday when its men's basketball team won 84-67 at Indianapolis, evening out its own home loss to Indy back on Jan. 21.

Brandon Johnson and Kreig Oxley also made significant progress with their play in that game in the area of easing the loss of point guard Cardell McFarland.

Johnson was a major defensive stopper on Indy point guard Adrian Moss, allowing just two points for a player who had gone wild for 27 points in the Greyhounds' 80-77 win at the Sportscenter. Johnson also collected four steals.

“With Cardell out, we know we have to focus a lot more now on defense,” Johnson said before this KWC road trip began. The Panthers (17-3, 9-3) face Saint Joseph's this afternoon at Rensselaer, Ind. Tipoff is 3 p.m.

But Johnson, a 5-foot-11 senior from Fresno, Calif., also had a large hand in the offensive side of the victory with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists.

“Coach (Todd Lee) has told me to be a leader on the floor,” Johnson said. “I'm always driving and looking to distribute. If I've got shooters on either side of the lane and I'm driving, then I'm looking to either shoot or get an assist.”

Oxley also had a solid offensive game running the point for the Panthers. The 6-2 junior scored 13 points and dished five assists. Oxley made both of his 3-point shots against Indy.

KWC did have 24 turnovers against Indy's pressure, and that is a concern for Lee.

“We're going to see teams press us some more,” Lee said. “We've got to do a better job of being organized and saeeing what we need to do against pressure.”

As far as Oxley is concerned, he and Johnson will continue to try and push the ball as the Panthers did with McFarland at the controls. Oxley does have some experience with this kind of adjustment of roles in the middle of the season. He moved the point guard last year at Wabash Valley Junior College when the starter went down with an injury.

“We've still got to attack and get the defense back on their heels,” Oxley said. “We may try to play faster, depending on the matchups and on what is best for us.”

What is best for the Panthers now is for Johnson and Oxley to continue finding their respective comfort zones with their increased responsibilities in the backcourt.

“With Cardell, we played a certain way and you know your advantages and disadvantages on the court,” Lee said. “Now, it is kind of a process trying to figure out where our advantage is. Our advantage against a certain team may be one thing, but will that translate to beat Bellarmine or Northern Kentucky or Southern Indiana. We might struggle at the end of the shot clock, but Brandon and Ox are trying to do something they haven't been asked to do before. Sometimes you have to find ways to make some baskets when everything is going haywire.”

Very little went wrong for KWC when it last met St. Joe's, an 84-61 win for the Panthers on Jan. 19 at the Sportscenter. KWC will need more solid backcourt play, and another strong effort from Anthony Young to match what he did at Indy with 26 points and 15 rebounds.

Daymon Ellison scored 18 points in the earlier meeting this season. St. Joe's leading scorer Dayvon Sloan (15.4 ppg) was 1-of-6 and scored four points in that first matchup.

Print Friendly Version