Game notes
Kentucky Wesleyan's men's basketball team went from rolling to reeling following two Great Midwest Athletic Conference losses last week.
Now, the Panthers hope to get rolling again when they host league foe Davis & Elkins on Thursday night at the Sportscenter.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30.
The Panthers had an eight-game winning streak snapped at Cedarville (62-60) on Thursday, before losing a 64-62 decision at Central State on Saturday — leaving Wesleyan at 13-5 overall and 3-2 in G-MAC play.
"It's grinding time — it's time for us to bounce back," Panthers second-year head coach Happy Osborne said. "We were rolling and I didn't see (back-to-back losses) coming. We've got to step on the gas pedal. We've got to get our swag back."
Davis & Elkins rolls in with a 5-10 overall record and a 1-4 conference mark. The Senators are on a four-game losing streak.
Leading the way for Davis & Elkins is Kevin Bracy-Davis at 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Other double-digit scorers for the Senators include Juwan Strothers (12.1 ppg), Wesley Sprinkle (11.1 ppg) and Alex Vasiljevic (10.4 ppg), who leads the team with 8.6 rebounds per game.
"Bracy-Davis is a really good player, and Davis & Elkins is a very well-coached team," Osborne said. "I expect a lot of zone from them in this one.
"We're going to try to make it up-tempo, and we need to be very aggressive."
The well-rested Senators lost 80-71 to visiting Bluefield State in their most recent outing on Jan. 14.
In KWC's loss at Central State, Ken-Jah Bosley led the Panthers with 16 points and C.J. Blackwell added 13. Devin Langford added 10 points and a team-best 10 rebounds.
Despite the recent setbacks, Osborne remains confident that the Panthers can regain their footing and accomplish great things this season.
"I still believe we have our destiny in our own hands," he said. "We haven't conceded the NCAA tournament, the regular-season conference championship, or the postseason conference tournament.
"We're going to get together and get this thing fixed."
• For Saturday's home doubleheader against Alderson Broaddus, KWC is offering free admission to fans who will donate a canned good (or donate $1) to the Street Relief homeless program. Five local agencies — the Daniel Pitino Shelter, the Boulware Center, St. Benedict's, Oasis and Owensboro Regional Recovery — will divide the proceeds.
Tipoff for Saturday's games are 1 p.m. (women's) and 3:15 p.m. (men's).
