Box Score
Before Thursday's game against Trevecca Nazarene, Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball coach Happy Osborne said he was looking for a "fantastic effort" from his squad when the conference tournament tipped off.
The first-year KWC coach got that and much more, as senior forward Donovan Johnson's game-high 19 points led seven double-digit scorers, and the Panthers steamrolled Trevecca Nazarene, 105-56, in the first round of the G-MAC Tournament at Rex Pyles Arena in Philippi, W.Va.
Johnson made his presence off the bench known early on, providing energy around the rim in helping KWC to a 54-24 scoring advantage in the paint. He shot 6-of-9 from the field, added five rebounds and made all seven of his free-throw attempts.
"We can play with a lot of teams when he plays like that," Osborne said. "I tried to run him until we couldn't run him any more, because we still need him tomorrow."
The Panthers (21-8) jumped out to an immediate lead on a pair of free throws from G-MAC freshman of the year Ken-Jah Bosley to open the game and never looked back. KWC took its largest lead of the first half on a layup by Rico Ferguson that put the Panthers up 55-16 with 20 seconds left before halftime.
In the process, KWC limited the Trojans (7-19) to just 16 first-half points, the fewest the Panthers have given up in a half since allowing 14 points to Missouri-St. Louis on Feb. 6, 2010.
"I felt like our guys came ready to play and ready to work — that's crucial," Osborne said. "We came out and guarded pretty well. I thought our guys played hard."
KWC picked up where it left off in the second half, taking its largest lead of the game on a layup from sophomore forward Devin Langford that put the Panthers ahead 96-43 with 5:17 left in the contest.
Langford finished with 14 points. Bosley put in 13, while junior forward Patrick Neel had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Dominique Dawson added 11 points and 10 boards, and KWC leading scorer Lonnie Hayes chipped in 11. Ferguson had 10 points as well.
Nick Drake led the Trojans with 13 points, while Clay Taylor added 11.
The Panthers return to action when they face Salem International in the G-MAC Tournament semifinals at 4 p.m.
