OWENSBORO, KY. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team picked-up a signature win on Saturday afternoon at the historic Sportscenter. Sasha Sukhanov's last second tip-in in the final second gave the Panthers a 67-66 victory over Great Midwest front-runner Hillsdale College.
 
Two days removed from heartbreak against Findlay, the Panthers (8-13, 7-7 GMAC) put themselves back in position to upend a team in the top-half of the G-MAC standings. Wesleyan entered the game 0-4 in one possession games this season and received a victory for their season long efforts. Wesleyan spoiled Hillsdale's senior day a year ago and had to fend off a late surge by the Chargers (14-7, 10-3 GMAC) on Saturday.
 
Hillsdale led 49-44 with 11 minutes left in the game, but after a triple from Zach Hopewell and a lay-up by Ben Sisson the Panthers were tied a minute later. The run continued as Hopewell buried another three-point bucket after two Charger free-throws. Jo Griffin got into the lane after another defensive stop to drop-in another short-range jumper, giving the Panthers a 54-51 lead.
 
A four-point play by Wyatt Battaile capped-off a 14-2 run, allowing Wesleyan to take 58-51 lead into the final seven minutes. Griffin kept the advantage at seven-points, 60-53, after another jumper with 4:33 left in the game. However, the Panthers were stuck on 62 for over three minutes and Chargers tied the game and took 63-62 lead by completing a three-point play with 51 seconds left.
 
The Chargers held a 66-63 lead with 34 seconds left in the game, Battaile's lay-up with 21 seconds left brought the deficit to one point. The Panthers immediately attacked the in-bounds pass, forcing a deflection that was tied-up and called a jump ball. The arrow pointed towards Wesleyan and they got one-final possession with 16 seconds left.
 
The lane cleared with Hopewell on the top of the key. Hopewell drove down the lane, but was forced out towards the baseline as the Hillsdale defense recovered. Two nights removed from his game-winning attempt being waved-off, Hopewell faded away and saw his game-winning attempt fall just off. The double team allowed Sukhanov to be unguarded under the basket for the offensive rebound and put-back for the game winner. Four tenths of a second were put-back on the clock, but the full court inbounds was deflected by the Panthers to end the game.
 
A late surged by the Chargers ended the first half as they went into the locker-room with a 38-31 lead. The Panthers erased that deficit at the start of the second half, but fell behind with 11 minutes remaining.
 
Hopewell finished with 17 points in the victory. Griffin added 12 points and five rebounds. Sukhanov pulled-in 11 rebounds to complement his nine points. Sisson also tallied nine points and three rebounds off the bench.
 
The Panthers will travel to Vienna, West Virginia on Thursday for a match-up against Ohio Valley. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 PM CT.
 
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