Box Score
Putting together one of its best all-around performances of the season, Kentucky Wesleyan pummeled host Illinois-Springfield 80-61 in a men's college basketball game.
KWC stretched its winning streak to three games (all on the road) and improved to 7-3. The Prairie Stars, who have never defeated the Panthers in seven meetings, dropped to 6-2.
"We had a good, hard week of practice and it paid off for us," said Kentucky Wesleyan second-year head coach Happy Osborne. "We took better care of the basketball. We finally got our turnovers down to 10, and that makes a big difference in the way you play the game.
"Our team needed this bad, and it gives us some real confidence as we move forward."
Kentucky Wesleyan shot 51 percent from the field in building a 44-30 halftime advantage, and Illinois-Springfield — trailing late by 22 points — could never quite regroup. The Prairie Stars lost the rebounding battle 32-29, and Wesleyan's pressure defense contributed to 21 Illinois-Springfield floor errors.
"It was a good all-around effort by our basketball team, and we got contributions from a lot of people," Osborne said. "The balance was good, and it's important —everybody got a piece of the cake in this one.
"Also, this was the best game Hikeen Stewart has played at Kentucky Wesleyan. He was very active and got a lot of things done for us at both ends of the floor."
Stewart, C.J. Blackwell and Ken Hah-Bosley each scored 12 points to pace the Panthers, who got 10 points from Marcus Fillyaw. Blackwell led Wesleyan with six rebounds and three assists. Scoring eight points each were Tre Boutilier, Devin Langley and Patrick Neel.
For the game, the Panthers shot 48 percent from the floor, 82 percent from the foul stripe, and 25 percent from 3-point land.
The Prairie Stars were paced by Mark Weems, who scored a game-best 17 points. Davi Austin added 12 points, Sammie Elem collected a game-high seven rebounds, and Kentrell King dished a game-high four assists.
Illinois-Springfield shot 42 percent from the field, 68 percent from the free-throw line, and were limited to 3-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc.
KWC plays host to Kentucky State at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, before competing in the Quincy Subway Holiday Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Quincy, Illinois.
