OWENSBORO, KY. – In the history of the Sportscenter, the Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team was 5-2 against the nation's top ranked team. On Wednesday night, the Panthers welcomed the top team in the country, Bellarmine University. The Knights did not meet a similar fate as most of their predecessors as they topped Wesleyan 83-57.
 
The Panthers (1-1) again suffered a slow start while the No. 1 Knights (3-0) made a concentrated effort to get the ball inside. With high percentage shots available Bellarmine doubled-up Wesleyan 20-10 through the first six minutes of the game.
 
Midway through the first half the CJ Fleming knocked-down a three-point basket to give Bellarmine a 31-15 lead. Erik Bell immediately answered with a three-point bucket of his own.
 
Defense began to spark the Panthers' offense thereafter as Mohamed Abu Arisha found Deng Mayot for a dunk in transition while Bell followed with another three-point basket. The perimeter bucket by Bell ended a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 35-28.
 
The Knights responded to the Panthers' run with a 9-0 rally of their own, building a 16-point lead with less than a minute in the period. Tyler Bezold was fouled at the buzzer and converted three free-throws to pull the Panthers within 44-33 at the break.
 
The Bellarmine lead rose to 19 points within the first five minutes of the second half. The Panthers briefly got back to a 15-point deficit, but the Knights established a 64-45 with eight minutes left in the game.
 
Wesleyan was outscored 38-18 in the paint while the Knights finished the game shooting 53 % from the field. The Panthers made 40% of their shots on the night. Bell finished with 13 points off the bench. Adam Goetz converted half his attempts to add 11 points while Bezold finished with 10 points.
 
The Panthers will travel to Evansville, Indiana on Thursday to play the Aces in an exhibition contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 PM CT.
 
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