Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan College used its size and speed to overwhelm Ohio Valley in its Great Midwest Athletic Conference opener Thursday night at the Sportscenter.
The Panthers scored more points in the paint (72) than Ohio Valley scored in total and shot a blistering 60.3 percent from the field to win, 105-59.
"I think we're getting more and more comfortable in our plays," first-year coach Happy Osborne said. "We're becoming more of a team all the time. We're getting more efficient."
The game was never in doubt as the Panthers (5-5, 1-0 G-MAC) blitzed the Fighting Scots (1-7, 0-1) from the get-go on offense and defense.
The Panthers were efficient on offense in the first half and stifling on defense, which allowed them to take a 59-33 lead into halftime.
KWC forced 13 turnovers in the first half while committing just five and won the rebounding battle, 23-13. The Panthers did most of the damage in the paint, scoring 40 of their 59 points near the basket.
They shot 61.1 percent and held the Fighting Scots to 34.5 percent to build the lead. That was more than enough to secure the win.
KWC was nearly as good in the second half, shooting 59 percent percent while holding OVU to 28.6 percent in the half and 31.6 percent overall. The Panthers led by as many as 48 points and every player aside from walk-on Jamon Sanford played and logged double-digit minutes.
The Panthers forced 21 total turnovers while committing just 12 and won the rebounding battle, 44-27. They also held OVU to just 25 percent (5-of-20) on 3s.
"I thought we got our hands up," Osborne said. "We caused a lot of deflections. We caused 21 turnovers, which is always good."
Senior center Dominique Dawson logged a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"I thought Dominiqe played well," Osborne said. "Man, he's a one-of-a-kind person and you're always glad to see him do really well. He'll do whatever it takes to win. He'll try to do that."
Freshman guard Ken-Jah Bosley was KWC's leading scorer with 24 points. He also grabbed six rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Senior forward James Herzog scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Panthers are now riding a four-game winning streak after dropping five in a row as they prepare to host Salem International on Saturday.
They're averaging 92 points over that stretch and holding opponents to 66.5 points. More importantly, they don't have a losing record anymore, Osborne said.
"From where we were, to .500, I do think our guys are playing really hard. That's what you ask for. I know there's plenty of time. I'm telling them they have one practice and one game left in the season. Then we're going to take three days off and we're going to start another season. We've got to find a way to come out and get it done Saturday."
