Panthers use 15-0 run in second half to pull away from Hillsdale and win Thanksgiving Classic, 76-62

Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Scoreboard

Box Score

Kentucky Wesleyan defeated Hillsdale 76-62 on Saturday afternoon at the Sportscenter in the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic championship game. Kentucky Wesleyan improves to 5-2 on the season, and also extends their impressive streak of consecutive wins at the Sportscenter to 34.

How it happened
Hillsdale made life difficult for Kentucky Wesleyan in the first half of play. The Panthers held a 9-2 lead early on, but the Chargers equaled things up at 20-20 later on in the half.

Kentucky Wesleyan scored nine points in the final 90 seconds, but remained ahead just 38-35 at halftime. Hillsdale shot 54 percent from the field in the half.

In the second half of action, the Panthers jumped out to a quick 10 point lead at 45-35 after a 7-0 run.

Over the next six minutes, KWC scored just two points and Hillsdale cut the lead down to two at 47-45 with 10 minutes to play.

With 5:57 left it was still a one possession game at 57-54. KWC would then open the flood gates with a 15-0 run.

It started with the Panthers' swarming defense, which led to Bosley's free throw and layup.

Then Josh Derksen scored five straight points, followed by Jack's bucket inside the paint, and Bosley's three-point play put the Panthers ahead 72-54 and took away all of Hillsdale's momentum.

Inside the box score
Josh Derksen stepped up in a big way in the second half. He finished with a season-high 14 points on 6-8 shooting from the floor. Derksen scored 12 points in the second half and was a huge reason the Panthers were able to start to pull away from the Chargers and seal the victory.

Jordan Jacks posted 17 points, he led all scorers with 13 points in the first half. Jacks also collected nine rebounds and three assists.

Ken-Jah Bosley registered 14 points, three assists, and two steals while Shaakir Lindsey knotted 10 points.

Charles Foster dished out a team-high five assists.

The Panthers out-rebounded Hillsdale 37-26. KWC shot nearly 60 percent from three-point land on 7-12 attempts.

Kentucky Wesleyan also added 32 points in the paint with 13 points scored off of turnovers, and 14 second chance points.

Next up
Kentucky Wesleyan will have a whole week off before returning back to action. The next game is set for next Sunday, December 4, against Salem International at 2 p.m. at the Sportscenter.

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