Box Score
It may not have been the prettiest thing, but it got the job done.
Kentucky Wesleyan survived a late surge by Saint Joseph's and poor free throw shooting to earn a 75-67 road win.
The eight-point win is a stark difference from KWC's 34-point win over the Pumas at the Sportscenter on Jan. 19, but it snaps a three-game losing streak and provides a win for a Panthers team that lost six of its last seven games heading into it.
"We made some mistakes down the stretch, but I thought it was a great team effort," coach Todd Lee said. "All 12 guys played. That was great to see. Our guys played good defense for most of the game. We just did some things down the stretch to let them back in the game — we turned it over — but I thought our guys battled in a tough place to play."
KWC (16-6, 8-6 Great Lakes Valley Conference) led by 11 points with 2:30 left to play, but Saint Joseph's (6-15, 4-10 GLVC) went on a 10-3 run that made it 71-67 in favor of KWC with 36 seconds left.
Cornbread Walker made 1-of-2 free throws, then Lucas Barker got a steal after St. Joe's grabbed the rebound. He was fouled and made one free throw.
The Pumas went down and air-balled a 3-pointer on their next possession. Dazmond Starke, who finished with a game-high 23 points and 17 rebounds, grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He sank two free throws to ice the game.
KWC took a 42-40 lead at the 14:59 mark after a 3-pointer from Kreig Oxley, who finished with 19 points and made four 3s. The Panthers never trailed after that point and lead by as many as 11 after another 3 from Oxley.
Free throw shooting plagued KWC all game as the Panthers finished 17-of-30 (57 percent) from the line. But Saint Joseph's returned the favor with equally bad shooting from beyond the arc. The scouting report says the Pumas live and die by the 3, and on Thursday it was their demise as they went 7-for-28 (25 percent) on 3s.
"I thought our guys did a good job defensively," Lee said. "That's the way they play. They have a lot of 3-point shooters. We held them to 31 percent (from the field). When you shoot that many 3s — and they only shot 25 percent from the 3 — I thoughtfor the most part we did a good job defensively…if you go on the road and you hold (a team) to 31 percent shooting, you're doing something right."
The 21 turnovers for KWC told Lee his team still has plenty to work on heading into Saturday's game against No. 12 Indianapolis.
"If we take care of the ball and do a little bit better job of that and then knock down our free throws, you feel like you're going to walk out of here with a 15-20-point win," Lee said. "Their press bothered us. They're a pretty quick team…when you're on the road, you've got to be able to knock down free throws. We have to improve in those two areas when we go play Indy on Saturday."
Lee praised Oxley and Starke, both seniors for stepping up and providing clutch baskets. He said when his team needed a bucket, Oxley was there to deliver it. His 19 points were a season-high, and Starke turned in his seventh double-double of the season.
"Down the stretch he made some big shots and we kept finding him and he knocked them down," Lee said. "When you're on the road and you're struggling, we had a couple seniors step up for us tonight in Kreig Oxley and Dazmond Starke.
"Ox hit some big shots. Every time they were making a big run, it seemed like he stepped up and made one."
Lee said he felt like every player contributed, and that included Daviess County alum James Herzog, who earned his collegiate start on Thursday. He played 12 minutes and scored two points and grabbed two rebounds.
Lee also commended his team on remaining positive throughout the whole game even when St. Joe's kept hanging around the Panthers kept turning the ball over.
That kind of mental focus will be key the rest of the season, he said. KWC will face an Indianapolis team that suffered an 87-62 loss at home to Southern Indiana on Thursday.
"A lot of it down the stretch is who's excited to play, who's eager to play, what are you playing for," Lee said. "We're still playing for a lot, so we should be excited about our opportunity. We've got to get ready for Saturday night. That's going to be a tough game."
