OWENSBORO, KY. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team faced its toughest challenge of the season thus far on Thursday evening. The University of Findlay, ranked ninth in the country this week, pulled away in the final minutes to take a 77-68 victory. The Panthers saw four players reach double figures in the loss at the historic Sportscenter.
 
A back-and-forth start to the contest turned the way of the Oilers (8-1, 7-1 GMAC) as they found themselves ahead 27-19 with seven minutes left in the opening frame. Five minutes later, Zach Hopewell connected on a three-point basket to bring the Panthers (5-3, 4-3 GMAC) within two, 31-29.
 
The Oilers controlled the final two minutes as they led by as many nine before heading into the locker-room with a 38-32 lead. Hopewell finished the first half with nine points while Ben Sisson came off the bench to grab six rebounds.
 
Five minutes into the second frame, Wyatt Battaile cut the Oilers lead to one possession, 45-42, with a lay-up. The Panthers returned the contest to one possession (48-46) with 11 minutes left after Jamil Wilson's mid-range jumper. In the next three minutes, Findlay produced a 9-1 run that created a 57-47 lead.
 
Baskets were becoming tougher to come by down the stretch, but the Panthers still had one more run. Wesleyan countered with a 9-2 rally that was capped off by Jo Griffin's three pointer. Griffin's bucket brought the game back to one possession, 59-56 with six minutes left in the game. However, that would be as close as the Panthers would get the rest of the way. Findlay built a comfortable 13-point lead shortly thereafter with a 14-4 run.
 
Tre Cobbs finished with 14 points and two rebounds. Hopewell added 13 points while Wilson scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. He also dished out five assists. Griffin finished with 11 points while Sisson recorded six points and grabbed nine rebounds.
 
The Panthers will host Hillsdale on Saturday. Tip-off at the Sportscenter is scheduled for 2:15 PM. Tickets for the game are on sale at owensborotickets.com.
 
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