Men's Game Notes
Women's Game Notes
Kentucky Wesleyan's men's and women's basketball teams will take high hopes into their respective Great Midwest Athletic Conference basketball tournaments, which begin on Thursday.
In the men's tournament at Phillipi, W. Va., KWC (20-8) is the No. 2 seed and will be challenged by No. 7 Trevecca Nazarene (7-18) in a 1:30 p.m. quarterfinal matchup.
"We're focused on nothing other than playing against Trevecca," insisted first-year Panthers coach Happy Osborne, whose team drillled the Trojans twice during the regular season. "Any team that does anything other than focus on the first game of a tournament is asking for trouble, and we've emphasized playing well against Trevecca all week.
"I'm encouraged by what I've seen in practice. We've worked hard on areas where we need improvement, such as defense, rebounding and 50-50 balls. From what I can tell, our players are not ready for the season to be over. They've got their minds on winning a championship."
KWC, which hasn't played in nine days, will likely start senior guard Lonnie Hayes (18.2 ppg), G-MAC Freshman of the Year guard Ken-Jah Bosley (16.8 ppg), sophomore forward Devin Langford (10.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), senior center Dominique Dawson (10 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and sophomore point guard Lucas Barker (6.2 ppg, 3.9 apg).
The Panthers last played on Feb. 25, posting a narrow 78-77 victory over Kentucky State in Frankfort.
Trevecca Nazarene features junior guard David Woodward (15.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and freshman guard Byron Sanford (12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg). Other projected starters are Nick Drake (8.4 ppg), sophomore center Jordan Bedwell (5.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and freshman forward Matt Pond (4.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg).
"We need to keep David Woodward from driving that basketball right by us," Osborne said. "Sanford and Drake are great players, too. I'm telling you, we can leave nothing to chance against this team."
If Wesleyan wins its opener, it would face the winner of No. 3 seed Central State and No. 6 seed Salem International in the semifinals at 4 p.m. on Friday. The title game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Alderson Broaddus, which swept the Panthers in regular season play, is the tournament host and No. 1 seed.
• On the women's side, Kentucky Wesleyan will feature G-MAC Player of the Year Karly Rhoads when it begins tournament play Thursday in Nashville, Tenn.
The No. 3 seed Panthers (18-8) will battle Ohio Valley (8-18) in a 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal matchup.
Karly Rhoads leads KWC at 14.2 points and 3.4 assists per game, and also averages 3.3 rebounds. She enters the tournament hitting 52 percent from the field, including 43 percent from 3-point range, and is making 82 percent of her free throws.
Expected to join her in the Panthers' balanced lineup will be Jordanne Gambill (12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg), Shelbi Tyra (10.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg), Kourtney Rhoads (9.8 ppg) and T'Essence Phelps (9.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg).
KWC, which swept Ohio Valley during the regular season, leads the G-MAC in scoring offense (78.2 ppg), scoring defense (68 ppg), scoring margin (plus-10.2) and free-throw percentage (75).
In the Panthers win their opener, they will play the winner of No. 2 seed Cedarville and No. 7 seed Alderson Broaddus in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The championship game is slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Trevecca Nazarene, which narrowly defeated Kentucky Wesleyan twice during the regular season, is the tournament host and No. 1 seed.
