Box Score
There's still basketball to be played in the 2013-14 season, but, so far, Alderson Broaddus has Kentucky Wesleyan's number.
The Battlers completed a regular-season sweep of the Panthers on Saturday, posting a critical 69-62 victory at Rex Pyles Arena in Philippi, W. Va.
While snapping Wesleyan's nine-game winning streak, Alderson Broaddus also put themselves in prime position to win the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship and, thus, host the league tournament early next month — needing only a split of their final two conference games at Salem International and Davis & Elkins to do so.
"They are a very good, very well-coached basketball team," KWC first-year coach Happy Osborne said of the Battlers, who dominated the Panthers 81-62 at the Sportscenter on Jan. 11. "We hurt ourselves by not rebounding the basketball -- there was a stretch in the second half where we allowed them one offensive rebound after another.
"Offensively, we've got to get some better looks. We didn't find a way to score inside, and that hurt."
Also hurting the Panthers were rugged starts to both halves. KWC missed its first five floor shots and 10 of its first 11 to open the contest, then started the second half 1-of-5 from the field.
The Battlers jumped ahead 16-4 in the first 11 minutes and never trailed.
Point guard Lucas Barker hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 24 seconds to keep the Panthers within a semblance of striking distance, but Alderson Broaddus answered on both occasions — a dunk by guard Thylas Perkins in the waning seconds serving as the exclamation point.
The Battlers (19-5, 11-1 G-MAC) were led by Malcolm Tatum's game-best 22 points. Ali Bilal scored 17, Perkins tossed in 11, and center Adam Kline claimed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Kentucky Wesleyan (19-8, 12-2), which shot only 37 percent from the floor, got 18 points from Lonnie Hayes and 15 from Ken-Jah Bosley, but they were the team's only double-digit scorers. Donovan Johnson came off the bench to secure seven rebounds.
"I thought they all battled, and there are still plenty of reasons to play this season," Osborne said. "I'm disappointed, of course, but we've just got to roll up our sleeves and bounce back. That's all we can do."
The Panthers wrap up regular season play with a non-conference visit to Kentucky State on Tuesday.
