Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan College was tougher than the University of Southern Indiana when its season hung in the balance on Saturday.
The No. 18 Panthers were sensational on the defensive end over the last 10 minutes, carrying them to a 64-58 win over No. 6 USI in the first round of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championship.
The Panthers were all smiles and celebrating in the same locker room at Bellamine University's Knights Hall where they were in tears after losing on a last-second shot to Northern Kentucky in the 2011 Midwest Region first round.
It was the first NCAA win in five tries for KWC coach Todd Lee, who looked both pleased and relieved after this one was over.
"Last year we got beat on a last-second shot, we got beat at the Sportscenter on a last-second shot,” Lee said. “Last year, the guys were in that same locker room crying. We've lost two really tough NCAA games in the last second, so to get a win like this is big.”
KWC (22-7) now faces No. 6 seed Indianapolis in the regional semifinals today at 4 p.m. Indy beat Hillsdale 66-62.
How the Panthers reached that game was just as significant.
Down 44-33 with 15:11 left in the second half, the Panthers started their slow climb back, and they did it by playing cellophane-tight defense.
Cardell McFarland hit the first of only two 3s he would make on the day, cutting it to 44-36, then USI had four straight empty possessions.
Anthony Young got more aggressive driving to the basket, and hit a short jumper to trim the lead to 44-38.
Isaac McClure rattled in a jumper with 10:44 remaining to stretch the USI lead back to 46-38, then the Screaming Eagles hit a dry spell to rival the Mojave desert.
“There was a four-minute stretch where that was the best defense we had played,” Young said of what was about to transpire. “We were in the passing lanes, we were focused, we were aggressive.
We need to play that way in the beginning, so we don't have to dig ourselves out of that hole.”
Brandon Johnson scored a traditional 3-point play, and Young made three free throws in four tries to draw KWC within two, 46-44, with 9:27 left. Young's free throws were the result of the fourth foul on McClure, and that would be major for KWC.
“He's a handful in a lot of different ways,” Lee said of the 6-foot-6 senior out of Paducah Tilghman. “Once he picked up his fourth foul, then you can go at him a little more and, he's not quite as aggressive.”
McFarland missed two straight free throws on KWC's next possession, but drained his second 3 to give KWC its first lead, 47-46, since 2-0.
Johnson (13 points) drove for a basket and made another free throw to push KWC to a 50-46 lead with 7:31 to play and complete its 12-0 run.
USI finally broke its scoring drought of 4:40 with a 16-footer from Lawrence Thomas and Brandon Hogg made a jumper to tie it 50-all with 4:55 to go in regulation.
KWC put together a 5-point burst that would ultimately decide the game, getting a spin drive from Young and a 3 from Marsielles Stewart (11 points), putting KWC back up 57-52. USI would never regain the lead in finishing 24-7.
Young, who led KWC with 18 points, was extremely aggressive in the second half when it became appearant that McFarland wasn't as explosive with the ball. Young and other Panthers thought their were the more aggressive team over the course of the game.
“You've got to play that way if you're going to beat USI,” Young said. “They are a tough team. If we had played soft we would have lost.”
USI made just two field goals over the last 6:03 and scored just eight points.
“It was a good defensive stand by them in the last 10 minutes,” said Hogg, who led USI with a game-high 23 points. McClure only scored six points
KWC also got major contributions from its bench, which outscored the deep Screaming Eagles 13-4.
USI made just 42.9 percent from the floor (21-of-49) and was only 3-of-20 on 3-pointers.
KWC had to also fight back from a 15-2 deficit to start the game.
“We did a good job of saying hey, let's get some stops, then grind it out,” Lee said.
The Panthers won despite shooting 39.6 percent from the field (19-of-48). They offset that by hitting 21-of-27 from the free-throw line.
“Kentucky Wesleyan made some big plays and kept getting baskets,” USI coach Rodney Watson said. “They did a nice job on Brandon, he didn't get a lot of free looks.”
And because of their defense on him and other key USI players, the Panthers are two wins away from the D-II Elite Eight.
