Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan College completed a four-game road trip with four victories by defeating host Trevecca Nazarene 87-66 in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game on Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.
The Panthers, who have won 15 of their last 17 after a rugged 1-5 start, improved to 16-7 overall and a league-best 9-1 in the G-MAC.
"We're an effective basketball team when we play defense and rebound, and we did a pretty good job of that today," said KWC first-year coach
Happy Osborne. "We held them to 35 percent, and our goal is to hold opponents under 40 percent. We didn't get as many deflections as we'd like, but we did a better job of challenging shots, particularly in the second half."
Kentucky Wesleyan built a 39-26 halftime advantage by holding the Trojans to just 10 baskets in 32 attempts (31 percent) over the first 20 minutes.
The Panthers' balance was key in the second half as they methodically pulled away in Music City.
KWC exhibited outstanding balance at the offensive end, with freshman guard Ken-Jah Bosley leading the way with 15 points. Donovan Johnson, Lonnie Hayes and reserve Patrick Neal each scored 11 points, and point guard Lucas Barker added 10 points and a game-best seven assists. Johnson collected a team-best 10 rebounds.
"The more efficient we are at the defensive end, the better we are offensively," Osborne said. "We've got several guys capable of scoring the basketball, and everyone seems to get involved when we're doing the job on defense.
"We've still got to get better in terms of getting in the passing lanes, but overall we were pretty solid. It's a good road win in the conference, and it keeps us moving in the right direction."
KWC finished 30-of-62 from the field (48 percent), made 4-of-11 shots from 3-point range (36 percent) and drained 23-of-35 free throws (66 percent), while winning the board battle, 45-41. The Panthers turned the ball over only 10 times.
Trevecca Nazarene (6-14, 3-6) was led by David Woodard, who scored a game-high 20 points, but was limited to 8-of-24 shooting from the floor. Byron Sanford produced 14 points and a game-best 12 rebounds.
The Trojans shot only 36 percent for the game, and made only 1-of-20 shots from 3-point range. Trevecca turned the ball over 13 times.
Wesleyan, which hasn't played at the Sportscenter since blasting Oakland City on Jan. 22, returns for home games on Thursday (Cedarville) and Saturday (Central State).
"We need our great fans to come out and support us in a big way on Thursday and Saturday," Osborne said. "We've got a shot at this (G-MAC championship) and, obviously, every game is huge for us from here on out."
