Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball coach Happy Osborne didn't mince words when speaking about his team's second straight road conference loss.
The second-year Panthers coach said his squad has "quit being tough" following KWC's 64-62 setback to Great Midwest Athletic Conference foe Central State in front of 986 in attendance on Saturday afternoon in Wilberforce, Ohio.
The Panthers (13-5, 3-2 in G-MAC) took the lead on a layup by Devin Langford less than two minutes into the game and led by as many as 11 points with 2:03 left in the first half, but KWC's 22 turnovers allowed Central State to hang around before mounting a second-half comeback.
After leading 34-23 at the break, the Panthers opened the second half with four consecutive turnovers, spurring a 19-4 run by the Marauders. Central State took a 40-38 lead on a pair of free-throw makes by Tre Edwards with 13:25 left in the game, and KWC never retook the lead from there.
Trailing by as many as seven points, frustrations mounted for the Panthers midway through the second half as C.J. Blackwell and Hikeem Stewart picked up technical fouls within two minutes of each other.
"We come out, turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover," Osborne said. "Panic, panic, panic. There's no reason for technical fouls. None, zero, zip. That's a lack of discipline. I'll take the hit, it's on me. Like I've said all year, these are my kids, I recruited them, I'm responsible for them.
"(Stewart) dunked and then he goes and gets in somebody's face. Why? Our team had one technical foul all year, and today we get two. When it means the most, with everything on the line, we get two. There's no excuse for it."
Ken-Jah Bosley led KWC with 16 points, while Blackwell finished with 12 points and seven rebounds and Langford added 10 points. Zay Henderson chipped in nine points and eight boards.
Masceo Harmon poured in a game-high 21 points for the Marauders (10-6, 3-1), and Raheem Lemons finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Jeremy Brown chipped in 11 points.
The Panthers shot 44 percent (21-of-48) from the field but only 19 percent (3-of-16) from 3-point range and 65 percent (17-of-26) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Marauders were just 37 percent (23-of-63) from the floor, 17 percent (3-of-18) from 3 and 63 percent (15-of-24) from the charity stripe.
"We're not throwing our bodies around, we're not banging, we're not being the team that we have had going," Osborne said. "It's disappointing. How can you go to Hillsdale and do what we did, or Quincy, then how can you come into this weekend and do this twice? It's embarrassing."
The Panthers don't have much time fix their problems before their next game either, Osborne added.
"This will not get it done (against Davis & Elkins) Thursday," he said. "Until we make a change in our toughness and our character, we're not going to be what we can be. That's on me, that's 100 percent on me. They're my kids, I recruited them, I'm the guy that believed in them and I'm the guy that has to fix it."
