Box Score
The train kept a-rollin' for the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers on Sunday afternoon.
Junior guard Ken-Jah Bosley scored a season-best 27 points and KWC used a strong first half to turn back visiting Illinois-Springfeield 84-72 in a men's college basketball game at the Sportscenter.
That's five consecutive victories for the Panthers (8-1), who close out a six-game homestand at 2 p.m. on Tuesday against Fort Valley State.
"We played an excellent first half, a really good first-half effort," KWC coach Happy Osborne said. "We let up in the second half, came out shooting jump shots instead of driving the ball. But we're making some strides. We're doing it for 20 minutes. Now, we've got to get where we're doing it for 40."
It was all Wesleyan in those first 20 minutes, as the Panthers shot 61 percent from the field, including 5-of-9 accuracy from 3-point range, to build a comfortable 46-21 lead over the Prairie Stars by intermission. Illinois-Springfield was limited to 38 percent shooting from the floor, and did not attempt a free throw in the first half.
"We played very well defensively in the first half, one of the better efforts since I've been here," Bosley said. "We took our foot off the pedal in the second half, but I'm not going to be mad about being 8-1."
Illinois-Springfield, which trailed by 26 points in the first minute of the second half, whittled its deficit by making five 3-pointers and sinking 18-of-19 free throws after halftime.
"We still had too many unforced turnovers," Osborne said, "and that's something we'll continue to work on as we move forward.
"We had a lot of positives in this one, and I think our team will continue to get better.
"And, we've got to be a team if we want to climb mountains."
Bosley finished 8-of-15 from the field, making 4-of-7 shots from long distance. He was 7-of-7 from the foul stripe.
"My teammates passed me the ball in great spots and I was able to get some great looks," Bosley said. "Fortunately, most of them went down for me today."
"We had good balance," Bosley said. "Anybody on this team can go off in any game for us."
The Prairie Stars (4-6) got a huge game off the bench from junior guard JJ Cravatta, who scored a team-high 17 points, making 4-of-5 floor shots and draining all seven of his free-throw attempts. Paxton Harmon, also off the bench, added 10 points and five rebounds.
