Box Score
Kentucky Wesleyan had little problem outmuscling and outworking Cedarville on Thursday night.
Behind a team-high 22 points from C.J. Blackwell, the No. 22 Panthers claimed an 83-63 victory over the Yellow Jackets in a conference matchup at the Sportscenter.
KWC (18-3, 6-1 in G-MAC) dominated the glass, outrebounding Cedarville 53-27 to win its third game in a row and ninth of its last 10.
"I thought our rebounding, obviously, was through the roof," Panthers coach Happy Osborne said. "Jermaine Morgan with 11 rebounds, that's a big effort out of him, and 11 boards for Jordan Jacks. I thought C.J. was incredible early, too."
Blackwell tallied 20 points in the first half alone, including a stretch where he knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers to key a decisive 18-4 run. The 6-foot-5 senior's effort pushed the Panthers ahead 43-21 with 3:21 left in the first half.
For the game, Blackwell made 8-of-12 shots from the floor, 3-of-6 from long range and was 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
"I thought C.J. shot the ball well," Osborne said. "His attitude's been so good all year long. He's a team guy, and I'm happy for him. C.J. can really, really shoot the ball. He's worked very hard, and it's good to see that pay off.
"If I had to pick one guy to get hot in February and March, he's the guy."
KWC leading scorer Ken-Jah Bosley — who was cleared by doctors earlier Thursday after going through concussion protocol for a shot to the head during practice earlier in the week — came off the bench to score 14 points.
Jacks also added 12 points for a double-double with his 11 rebounds, and Morgan tallied a KWC career-high with his 11 boards. Marcus Fillyaw added 11 points, as well.
Morgan credited a strong week of practice for the team's success.
"Coach has been stressing since we're in the rankings that we can't get too comfortable, because we have a target on our backs," the 6-8 senior center said. "We've been practicing very hard, and we know that whatever we do on the practice floor will show on the basKetball floor during the game."
The Yellow Jackets (8-12, 1-5) were led by Kwenton Scott's 23 points, but no other player scored more than seven points. Cedarville finished with a 35.9-percent clip from the floor and was just 6-of-22 from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Panthers converted on 46.6 percent of their shot attempts, including a 7-of-15 mark from 3-point range. KWC also made 22-of-30 from the free-throw line, while Cedarville was 11-of-17.
It was the third straight loss for the struggling Yellow Jackets, and Morgan credited KWC's focus for keeping the Yellow Jackets at bay.
"We're very confident, but we can't get comfortable," he said. "We have a lot of confidence going into February and March, but we know every game is going to be a fight."
