Box Score
It wasn't a picture-perfect close to the game, but Kentucky Wesleyan coach Happy Osborne said he'll take it.
The No. 10 Panthers led by 18 points with less than six minutes remaining before Ohio Valley rallied to cut lead down to a single possession. However, KWC was able to thwart the comeback effort and hold on for a 76-70 conference victory on Thursday night in Vienna, West Virginia.
"Give Ohio Valley credit for coming right back at us," Osborne said afterwards. "They're very good offensively, they showed that. At the end of the day, we're out of here alive. It's not what I wanted, but we did it.
"We didn't play our best, but we did get out of here with a 'W,' and ultimately that's what matters."
The Panthers (24-3, 10-1 in G-MAC) led 35-30 at halftime, and Ken-Jah Bosley's 3-pointer midway through the second half sparked an 11-3 run that pushed KWC ahead 66-48 with 5:49 remaining.
The Fighting Scots (7-18, 3-8) fought back behind 11 points from David Sinickas -- including three 3-pointers -- for a 20-4 run that cut the lead to just two points with 1:41 left in the game.
However, back-to-back field goals by Bosley pushed KWC back ahead by six points, and the Panthers held on for the win.
"I felt good, for what that's worth," Osborne said of Ohio Valley's run. "I thought we would get our composure back, but it's one of those things -- you're playing against a team that can shoot the 3 and a team with nothing to lose. If they knock you off, they're dancing in the streets. We hung on, and we did what we had to do."
Jordan Jacks led KWC with a career-high 26 points and team-best nine rebounds. Bosley finished with 18 points, and Marcus Fillyaw had a stellar all-around game with 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
"I'm going to give C.J. and Dev a lot of credit for being leaders," Osborne said. "I think those guys have hung in there and hung in there, through good and bad. It wasn't Dev's night. Dev missed some layups and dunks, but he makes a couple big steals late. C.J. with the effort through the roof, and both of those guys are just like Jordan, Ken-Jah and Filly -- huge keys to doing what we do."
Darryl Walker led the Fighting Scots with 27 points, and Arturs Vitins finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Sinickas also finished with 13 points.
The win was the ninth in a row for KWC and the 15th victory in its last 16 outings, but more importantly to Osborne, it cemented the outright G-MAC regular-season title for the Panthers.
"It was announced after Saturday's win, but tonight clinched the conference," he said. "We might have had homecourt advantage (for the G-MAC Tournament), but I didn't want to be part of a tie, our kids didn't want to be part of a tie, and that was a good effort for us."
