Box Score
For the second straight game and third time this season, Kentucky Wesleyan faced a halftime deficit.
Just as they did on Saturday against Missouri-St. Louis, the No. 6 Panthers (11-0, 3-0 Great Lakes Valley Conference) responded with a come-from-behind win to remain unbeated.
KWC used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to take the lead for good and defeat Quincy (6-6, 1-3 GLVC), 77-69.
"We got down and I told the guys when we're down, we stick together," coach Todd Lee said. "That's really positive for our guys. We got down the other night against UMSL and stuck together…Our guys hung together, stuck together, and that's big. It's easy to do it at home, but on the road it's a little tougher."
KWC's 46-point second half outburst helped overcome a 35-31 deficit.
Senior guard Kreig Oxley buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 44-44 with 13:31 left to play, then buried another one on KWC's next possession to give the Panthers a 47-44 lead.
It was Oxley's first two scores of the game, and it put KWC in front for good.
The Panthers eventually rattled off 12 unanswered to take a 52-44 lead with 9:48 left to play.
Four minutes later, freshman guard Lucas Barker drained a 3-pointer that gave KWC a 63-53 lead, its largest lead of the game.
Quincy led by as many as eight with 7:06 left in the first half, but never got closer than five after KWC's big run in the second half.
"I thought Kreig Oxley hitting those 3s was big for us," Lee said. "I told him he needs to shoot the ball. Our guys expect him to shoot. He's one of our best. He needs to knock those shots down. He's an unselfish player. He's always looking to pass first.
"I thought when he knocked down some 3s in the second half, it really lifted us."
KWC got another strong performance out of senior center Dazmond Starke. He turned in his fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Barker also had 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Donovan Johnson chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
There was a stretch early on in the first half where KWC was called for seven straight fouls, including a technical foul on Johnson after he responded to a Quincy player's hard foul on him.
Quincy used that stretch to take the lead.
"We had a stretch there where we had a bunch of calls go against us," Lee said. "That's what happens on the road."
KWC has a quick turnaround and will play Illinois-Springfield, which on Thursday beat Southern Indiana 73-71, on Saturday.
Lee said his team will need to be a little "tighter" at the end of the game on Saturday than it was on Thursday and start off better.
"I thought (Quincy) was more physical in the first half," Lee said. "But we hung in there and really did a much better job of running the offense in the second half, other than that one stretch where we were late and turned it over.
"All the games on the road were tough and you've got to find a way to win them."
