Box Score
It wasn't the complete bounce-back effort that the Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team was seeking, but it was a step in the right direction.
After dropping two road conference matchups in a row, the Panthers responded with a 68-57 victory over Great Midwest Athletic Conference opponent Davis & Elkins on Thursday night at the Sportscenter.
KWC (14-5, 4-2 in G-MAC) made its mark on the glass, outrebounding the Senators 43-23 on the boards. Led by Zay Henderson's seven offensive rebounds, the Panthers outscored Davis & Elkins 17-4 on second-chance opportunities.
The Panthers led by 22 points with 14:43 left in the game, but the Senators took advantage of seven KWC second-half turnovers for 15 points. The Panthers, who had 13 points off turnovers in the first half, finished with just one point off five Davis & Elkins giveaways in the second half.
"I thought we had a chance again, like at Cedarville and like at Central State, to really, really set the tone," said second-year KWC coach Happy Osborne, "and we let off the gas."
Ken-Jah Bosley led the Panthers with 13 points, while Henderson (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Patrick Neel (12 points, 10 rebounds) each finished with a double-double.
"I was just playing," Henderson said. "I had to go animal mode and attack the glass. I knew I had to rebound. I was bigger than them, so I had to use my size and just be physical with them."
Marcus Fillyaw also finished with nine points, six assists and three steals for KWC.
"I thought it was a better night for Marcus Fillyaw," Osborne said. "Six assists to two turnovers, there's my point guard again, with 3-to-1 (assist-to-turnover ratio). That was a good bounce back for him."
The Senators (5-11, 1-5) were led by 15 points from Juwan Strothers, while Wesley Sprinkle added 13 points and Shuaib Kamara chipped in 10 points.
Davis & Elkins shot 46 percent (21-of-46) from the field and 40 percent (4-of-10) from 3-point range, while KWC finished at 43 percent (26-of-60) shooting from the floor and 27 percent (4-of-15) from downtown. The Senators took a 8-7 lead almost four minutes into the game, but the Panthers reeled off a 9-2 run and never trailed from there.
"I wouldn't call it a complete-game effort, because we still have some things we need to work on, but it's a win," Henderson said. "I'll take a win. We still played good, but we know as a team that we can play better and we have some work to do still."
According to Osborne, he just wants to see his squad bring a consistent high-energy level each game.
"We've got to continue to do that," he said. "Zay's getting better, that part helps. Patrick battled in there. Those guys, their effort was good, but we've got to get some guys going -- we've got to get Ken-Jah going a little bit more, we've got to get C.J. (Blackwell) going a little bit more. We need Devin (Langford) at full energy. If those guys can do that, then I think that really, really helps us."
WOMEN?KENTUCKY WESLEYAN 76, DAVIS & ELKINS 63
Jordanne Gambill scored 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, in leading KWC to a G-MAC victory before the men's game at the Sportscenter.
Jennifer Walker-Crawford added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Haley Cook chipped in 11 points for the Panthers (10-6, 6-1). Bria Wright also had eight points and nine rebounds.
KWC shot 42 percent (25-of-60) from the field but did most of its damage from outside, as the Panthers finished at 43 percent (12-of-28) from 3-point range.
The Senators (8-7, 4-3) were led by Sharmaine Baker's 25 points, as they finished at 36 percent (24-of-66) from the field and just 15 percent (4-of-26) from long range.
