Box Score Â
Ken-Jah Bosley led four players in double-figures as the Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team rolled to an 82-51 season-opening victory on Saturday night in the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge at the Matthaei Center in Detroit.
Bosley scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Jordan Jacks added 19 points and a game-best eight rebounds. Devin Langford and C.J. Blackwell came off the bench to score 16 and 15 points, respectively, and KWC shot 58 percent from the floor as a team.
The game was tied briefly three minutes into the contest, but the Panthers (1-0) used a 10-0 run over the next five minutes that pushed the lead out to 16-6. After the Warriors battled back and cut the deficit to six points, KWC responded again — this time with a 14-5 run that helped the Panthers secure a 38-23 halftime advantage.
The second half was much of the same, with KWC shooting 63.6 percent in the frame to extend its lead. A dunk by Jacks pushed the Panthers' advantage to 75-45 with 3:25 left in the contest, and Langford's dunk in the final minute resulted in the 31-point win.
"A lot of positives," coach Happy Osborne said about his team's performance. "The most positive is playing hard, being happy for each other, and I thought our guys really fought."
Though KWC finished with just eight assists, Osborne said he liked the way his team shared the ball, especially in transition. The passes didn't result in many buckets, but they helped the Panthers get to the free-throw line, where they knocked down 21-of-29 attempts.
"We've got to pass the ball well," Osborne said. "That's so gratifying. If we're going to do anything, we've got to do it together, and the guys were making the extra pass tonight."
The Warriors (0-1) were led by 10 points from Joel Ndondo, but Wayne State finished the game shooting just 27 percent from the floor.
"I thought our defense was really, really good," Osborne said. "Eighteen turnovers for them. The bad news, though, is the 17 turnovers for us."
KWC held a 41-37 rebounding margin, outscored Wayne State 40-18 in the paint and scored 19 points off of turnovers to the Warriors' nine. The Panthers' bench also outscored Wayne State's, 37-18.
Though Osborne was pleased with the win, he knows there isn't much time to celebrate before KWC returns to action Sunday against Tiffin at 1 p.m. in the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge finale.
The Dragons are coming off of a come-from-behind 88-84 overtime victory over Alderson Broaddus in the earlier game Saturday.
"Now we move on to a Tiffin team that was down 19 points with 10 minutes to go," Osborne said. "We know they're excited about their team and their win, and we've got to answer. They're an explosive team, and they're an emotional team.
"Really, there's no time for us to feel good. We go back tonight, watch tape, get some rest, and let's roll it out again tomorrow."
