Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan College didn't start as slow in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championship.
The Panthers simply couldn't make as many plays as Bellarmine University on Tuesday night.
No. 4 Bellarmine earned its second straight regional crown with a hard-fought 79-74 win over KWC in a packed and rocking Knights Hall.
The 2,450 sellout crowd saw the Knights repeat as Midwest Region champion for the first time since KWC did it in 2002-03.
“That was more like a Final Four game,” KWC coach Todd Lee said. “They are as good as any team in the country. But we showed a lot of mettle in this tournament. It was a different atmosphere tonight.”
The No. 18 Panthers finished 23-8, but they put together arguably their best three games of the season at just the right time.
And in the regional final, they did just about all they could to advance to the Elite Eight next week at the Bank of Kentucky Center in Highland Heights. Instead, Bellarmine will get that honor.
“They just made a few more plays than we did,” said
Anthony Young, who ended his KWC career with a double-double, 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Young was one of the three KWC seniors to put up big numbers.
Cardell McFarland scored 20 points and dished four assists in 37 minutes.
Brandon Johnson also scored 17 points. Johnson and McFarland each pulled down six rebounds for KWC.
Young, McFarland and Johnson all made the All-Midwest Region Tournament team. McFarland was playing at about 60 percent, Lee said, because of the foot injury that kept him out of the lineup for over a month.
“We knew we weren't going to quit,” Johnson said. “For the seniors it was all or nothing.”
KWC had faced major double-digit deficits in its two regional wins over Southern Indiana and Indianapolis. KWC accomplished the most critical part of its plan in the first half, when it came back from a 9-2 start to get the margin under control at the eight-minute mark.
Two straight 3s by McFarland and
Marseilles Stewart gave KWC it's first lead, 23-22, with 7:53 to go.
The lead changed hands six more times over the rest of the half, and the teams went into the locker room tied 31-all.
Bellarmine (28-3) jumped to a 39-33 lead to start the second half, and Lee called a 30-second timeout with 17:37 to go to settle his team.
McFarland and Johnson scored on drives, cutting the margin to 39-37. Bellarmine edged back out to a 46-38 advantage, but couldn't shake KWC.
Lee was whistled for a technical foul with 11:13 to go after McFarland drove and absorbed a lot of contact, but no foul was called. Jeremy Kendle nailed a 3-pointer after the McFarland drive and before the technical, giving Bellarmine a 51-42 lead. Braydon Hobbs missed both free throws, limiting the damage for KWC.
“There were some times I thought we got hit, we just didn't get the calls, and in a two possession game, those are big,” Lee said. “They missed both free throws, so it was a good technical.”
KWC kept battling, and knocked the lead down to four points four times in the last 8:41, but couldn't put any more pressure on the Knights.
“It all comes down to stops, and we didn't get key stops,” McFarland said. “If we got a stop, we didn't get a key box out. (Chris) Dowe was flying in everywhere, getting offensive rebounds, they were getting a hand on the loose balls.”
Dowe, the Most Outstanding Player in the regional, also put up a double-double with a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Kendle put in 19 points.
Hobbs was also all over the floor, scoring 14 points, passing for eight assists, grabbing seven rebounds and being credited with seven blocked shots. Hobbs and Kendle also made the all-tournament team.
Bellarmine blocked 10 shots and KWC didn't have a block.
KWC was limited to 39 percent shooting for the game (27-of-69) and made 5-of-16 on 3-pointers.
Bellarmine made 31-of-61 from the field for 50.8 percent but just 5-of-21 on 3s for 23.8 percent.
KWC outrebounded Bellamine 43-32.
“We had to rebound better in the second half, and that's all we talked about at halftime,” Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport said. “That, and we had to keep passing the ball.”
Davenport agreed with Lee that it was as good a college basketball game as you would see played in March.
“It was a great college game, and it doesn't make any difference what the level. To me, that's important,” Davenport said.
