Ken-Jah Bosley scored a career-high 31 points and reserve guard Nick Riley made three clutch free throws in the final 14 seconds to help KWC rally past Hillsdale 80-76 in the opening round of the Quincy Subway Holiday Tournament on Saturday at Quincy, Illinois.
"We're getting better, we're beginning to believe," said second-year KWC head coach Happy Osborne. "This is what it's about. We talked about 40 (minutes), 40, 40, and the guys responded with a great effort against an outstanding Hillsdale team.
"We've got a huge one (Sunday) against another great team. Maybe we can go into Christmas with a smile on our faces."
The Panthers were all smiles after conquering Hillsdale, which led by 11 points at one junture of the first half, and was ahead 41-33 at intermission.
KWC made all the right moves down the stretch.
A basket by Bosley pushed Wesleyan in front 73-72, before Kyle Cooper answered to reclaim the lead for Hillsdale.
Two free throws by C.J. Blackwell and a basket by Bosley left the Panthers with a three-point advantage, but two free throws by Garrett Jones pulled Hillsdale within 77-76 with 16 seconds to play.
Riley, fouled at 0:14, hit the first of two free throws, but missed the second. Patrick Neel got a critical offensive rebound and passed back to Riley, who was fouled again at 0:10. This time, Riley made both foul shots to seal the deal for the Panthers.
"We showed toughness, and that's what we've been looking for," Osborne said. "Patrick came up with a big rebound there, and Nick did the job at the foul line — he really came through for us at the end.
"Ken-Jah was just outstanding the whole way, and C.J. Blackwell had 10 big rebounds.
"We made the plays we had to make down the stretch."
In 34 minutes, Bosley drained 12-of-18 floor shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and made 5-of-6 free throws. Point guard Marcus Fillyaw was highly productive with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven steals, and Blackwell had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Kentucky Wesleyan blistered the nets in the second half, making 17-of-28 shots (61 percent) and finished at 55 percent (32-of-58) for the game. The Panthers also made 11-of-13 foul shots (85 percent), held a 27-23 edge on the glass, and turned the ball over only eight times.
Hillsdale (5-2) was paced by Cooper, who was 10-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, on his way to 27 points and seven rebounds. Jones climbed off the bench to score 22 points, and Stedman Lowry added 10 points.
As a unit, Hillsdale shot 55 percent from the field, including 12-of-23 accuracy from 3-point range (52 percent), made 12-of-14 free throws (86 percent), but committed 14 turnovers.
