Box Score The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team came to play on Wednesday night — from the get-go.
The Panthers zipped to a 12-0 lead in the first 3 minutes, 20 seconds and proceeded to scorch previously undefeated Oakland City 99-66 at the Sportscenter.
"We started out good defensively, and that got us the early lead," KWC head coach Happy Osborne said. "(Oakland City) had a guy or two out in this one, so we played zone in the second half, which is what you do in games like this.
"Now, it's on, with (G-MAC) conference games coming up. It's plugging time. We need to prove we can win on the road, gain some confidence, and play our best basketball the rest of the way."
The Panthers (12-2) were certainly at their best against the Mighty Oaks (8-1), draining 13 of their first 15 field goal attempts, including five 3-pointers. KWC took a 34-9 lead at 10:15 of the first half on a basket by Basil Deveaux — capping a ferocious 20-0 run.
"These are good kids and they're fun
to coach," Osborne said. "We just want them to give the best they have every time they step on the floor. We got it going there in the first half."
KWC eventually built its lead to 40 points on three occasions, before settling for a commanding 56-18 advantage at intermission. The Panthers shot 61 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 5-of-9 accuracy from 3-point range (56 percent).
The early portion of the second half was more of the same, with Wesleyan taking its largest lead (69-25) on a stupendous reverse layup by junior guard Ken-Jah Bosley with 15:02 to play.
Oakland City responded with seven straight points of its own, but three times Panthers rebuilt their advantage to 40 points before emptying the bench down the stretch. The Mighty Oaks never got closer than 31 the rest of the way.
The Panthers' balanced attack was led by C.J. Blackwell, who scored 21 points and drained a trio of trifectas. Devin Langford, Tamron Manning and Jeremaine Morgan each scored 12 points, and Jordan Jacks snared 10 rebounds. Bosley led the way with a game-best seven assists in only 21 minutes.
In all, eight KWC players scored eight or more points, as the Panthers finished at 58 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc."We're getting better (off the bench)," Osborne said. "We need to get Marcus Fuggins (sidelined with a fractured shin) back in the next couple of weeks. He's our (6-9, 260-pound) rim protector and to be our best we need to get him back in the mix."
Oakland City, which shot just 24 percent in the first half, rallied to finish at 37 percent. Power forward Addison Wagler produced game-best totals of 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Mighty Oaks. Andre Bearden made three 3-pointers and added 14 points.
KWC, which doesn't return to the Sportscenter until a Jan. 23 matchup with Trevecca, now embarks on a three-game G-MAC road trip beginning with Saturday's visit to Cedarville.
"It's time to get after it,' Osborne said. "This is what you work for all season long. Conference play, there's nothing like it."
