Game notes
The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team, still fighting for the top spot in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference standings, has a chance to avenge a loss from earlier this season and make up some ground on conference leader Alderson Broaddus when the Panthers take on Cedarville on Saturday afternoon at the Sportscenter.
KWC fell to the Yellow Jackets, 64-62, on the road Jan. 15 when Devin Langford was called for a goaltend in the closing seconds of the contest. The loss snapped a nine-game win streak at the time, but the Panthers can claim their second victory in a row and fifth in six tries with a win this time around.
According to Panthers coach Happy Osborne, his squad could use as much help as it can get.
"I hope everybody in our town knows we're playing for first place," he said. "We need them Saturday. Cedarville beat us earlier, and we need the best crowd we can get."
The Yellow Jackets (10-14, 6-4) are paced by 6-foot-2 senior guard Marcus Reineke, who leads the team with 18.4 points per game on 47 percent shooting and 45 percent from 3-point range. Other starters include 6-1 sophomore guard Austin Pickett (10.6 points), 6-4 guard Jason Cuffee (8.7 points), 6-6 sophomore forward Easton Bazzoli (8.5 points) and 6-7 center Leighton Smith (7.7 points, 5.2 rebounds).
Osborne said any chance at a win comes with limiting Reineke's production and playing good defense. In the Yellow Jackets' victory over KWC last month, Reineke scored just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, which helped the Panthers stay competitive until the final seconds.
"Marcus Reineke is one of the best players in our league, he's a tremendous shooter," Osborne said. "We have to handle their press, and we have to guard the 3 and take away penetration."
KWC is led by 6-1 sophomore guard Ken-Jah Bosley, who scores 18 points per game but has been limited recently by injuries. The Panthers will also seek quality performances from 6-5 junior forward C.J. Blackwell (12.2 points, 5.0 rebounds), 6-7 junior forward Devin Langford (10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds), 6-1 junior point guard Marcus Fillyaw (7.5 points, 4.4 assists) and 6-8 center Zay Henderson (3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds).
Tipoff is set for 3:15 p.m. immediately following the KWC women's conference showdown against No. 23 Cedarville.
