Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan College started slowly, but once it got ramped up Oakland City couldn't stop the Panthers.
KWC had five players scoring in double figures on the way to an 89-72 win at Oakland City (Ind.) on Wednesday night.
Lonnie Hayes and Ken-Jah Bosley warmed up from 3-point range to lead the Panthers. Hayes scored 18 points and Bosley added 16 as each player hit 4-of-8 on 3-pointers. That shooting helped pace KWC to 14-of-29 shooting from 3-point range for 48 percent.
Rico Ferguson added 14 points, hitting 6-of-7 from the floor. Devin Langford scored 13 points and Luke Shelley added 10.
The Panthers ran their record to 15-7 and have won 14 of their last 16 games.
"We've got to keep growing. I told them I think we can be a really good team if we defend and if we rebound," KWC coach Happy Osborne said on his postgame radio show.
Although KWC did a lot of good things offensively, hitting 34-of-66 from the floor for 51.5 percent and passing for 19 assists, Osborne continued to be concerned about defense.
"We had 33 deflections, only 10 in second half," Osborne said. "If we can become a 40-deflection, 39-percent team, if we do that we've got a chance of winning our league and winning our conference tournament."
KWC needs to keep opponents from shooting better than 40 percent, Osborne believes. Oakland City made 28-of-57 from the floor for 49 percent and shot nearly 56 percent?in the second half.
Brandon Morton put up a double-double for Oakland City with 17 points and 10 rebounds. KWC still had a 36-29 advantage on the glass, in part because of Donovan Johnson's 10 rebounds in 24 minutes for the Panthers.?KWC was up 44-34 at the half, but went on a 10-2 run early in the second half to take control of the game. Oakland City fell to 15-6.
"We've got to take this and improve on it," Osborne said. "I want it to get there so bad, but we've got to defend and we've got to rebound."
The Panthers get their next chance for improvement Saturday when they travel to Nashville for a game at Trevecca Nazarene at 4 p.m.
"I don't think we were really, really alert in this game," Osborne said of Oakland City. "We've got a tough game Saturday. Our effort has got to get better."
