Box Score It all came down to one free throw in the home opener for the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team.
After battling back from down as many as 12 points in the second half, the Panthers tied the game late before Northwood's Maurice Jones was fouled on a last-second 3-point shot attempt.
The first two shots clanged off the back rim, but the Timberwolves' point guard drained the third to give Northwood a 73-72 victory over KWC on Wednesday night in front of 2,100 in attendance at the Sportscenter.
The Panthers (2-1) were led by Ken-Jah Bosley's 21 points, including a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left in the game that tied the score at 72-72. Devin Langford added 13 points off the bench, and Tre Boutilier chipped in 10.
However, KWC allowed Northwood to shoot 67 percent from the field, including 10-of-16 from long range.
"Lack of communication, lack of communication the whole game," Panthers coach Happy Osborne said. "We put ourselves in a hole. We got outrebounded, we gave up 67 percent, we didn't guard, and you can't give up that and win. We lost by one, and we gave up 67 percent."
Jones paced the Timberwolves (2-1) with 13 points and six assists, while Dylan Langkabel scored a team-high 16 points. Jermaine Myers finished with 15 points, and Will Bowles added 12.
"Maurice Jones is a good player," Osborne said. "He started at Southern Cal. He's a good player, but we have the better team. We should have won the game. There's no excuse.
"I've got to do a better job communicating, our assistants have to do a better job communicating, and our players have to do a better job communicating. At the end of the day, there are no excuses. We dug a hole, we fought back, we didn't guard, and ultimately it cost us the basketball game."
Osborne said the defensive lapses were frustrating because of the time the Panthers spent preparing for Northwood during the week.
"Defensively, we were not good," he said. "We practiced against this for two days. I'm at a loss for what else we could have done. We played some 1-3-1 (zone), and that worked a little bit. We spent a whole lot of time on man defense. We've got to guard, and we didn't do it."
The Timberwolves shot 17-of-23 from the floor during the first half, taking a 42-33 halftime lead on a layup by Matt Crowl just before the buzzer.
The Panthers used a 9-0 run capped off by Boutilier's 3-pointer with 5:49 remaining in the game for a 62-61 advantage, their first lead since the 14:30 mark in the first half.
Both teams battled back and forth for the lead until Langkabel was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws for a 72-70 Northwood lead with 2:13 remaining. Bosley's free throws tied the game nearly two minutes later, but Jones closed the game with his charity-stripe make with .5 seconds left in the contest.
"We played on our heels the whole first half," Osborne said. "We got off to a good start, it wasn't easy, then they got us on our heels. Our offense is not going to be good when you're getting the ball out of the mud every time.
"We've just got to do better. I think they're a good team, but this is a game we should have won. Good teams -- NCAA Tournament teams -- find a way to win games, especially at home."
The Panthers return to action on the road against Lake Superior State on Saturday at noon.
