Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan had another Sportscenter tester Saturday, and once again the surging Panthers passed the test.
Lonnie Hayes scored 26 points and KWC coach Happy Osborne got production from a variety of sources in an 83-79 Great Midwest Athletic Conference victory over ever-dangerous Central State in the Panthers' final regular-season home game of 2013-14.
The victory is the eighth in succession for the red-hot Panthers, who have reeled off 17 victories in their last 19 games.
"I'm proud of this basketball team, to come back like this after opening the season 1-5," Osborne said. "We're still not closing out games the way we'd like, still not rebounding and playing defense the way we'd like, but we're finding a way to win, and that's the name of the game — especially late in the season.
"We knew Central State would give us all we wanted, and they did. They're very athletic, very strong on the inside, and very strong on the boards. They just keep coming at you, and we had to keep matching their intensity at the end — those guys never did go away."
Indeed, Wesleyan, which led wire to wire and by as much as 16 points late in the first half, survived a furious rally by the Marauders, who pulled within 82-79 on three free throws by LeDonte Body with 12 seconds to play.
Lucas Barker made 1-of-2 foul shots at 0:10, and Central State turned the ball over on its subsequent possession.
For the Panthers (18-7, 11-1 G-MAC), Hayes finished 6-of-15 from the floor, drained 12-of-13 free throws and dished six assists.
Devin Langford was also solid with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Ken-Jah Bosley scored 11 points.
"We also got a big sequence from Luke Shelley, who got a deflection, made a layup, then took a charge at the other end on the next possession — that came at a key time late in the second half," Osborne said. "And, Rico Ferguson gets 12 deflections, which is huge for us.
"These guys just keep plugging, and we're working well as a team. It takes everyone contributing down the stretch, and that's what we're getting from these players here late in the season."
Body scored 21 points to pace the Marauders (15-9, 6-4), who also got 17 points and 17 rebounds from Raheem Lemons. Anthony Rule was big off the bench with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Kentucky Wesleyan visits Davis & Elkins on Thursday.
