OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College men's basketball team battled nationally ranked No. 18 Hillsdale College on Saturday, but ultimately fell 66-63 at The Owensboro Sportscenter.  It was a nail-biting 40 minutes of action as neither team led by more than 8 points.

Wesleyan trailed by six at the half before back-to-back three's from Wyatt Battaile and Zach Hopewell evened the score at 30 less than five minutes into the second half.  In the final 16 minutes of play, the two teams traded the lead 10 times.

With five minutes remaining and leading by one, a pair of lay ups from Ben Sisson gave the Panthers a five-point lead.  It marked the largest lead by either team in over 12 minutes of play as no one built more than a three-point lead.

The Chargers responded with five points to tie the score at 54 with 3:28 remaining.  The next five possessions saw each team score, giving Hillsdale a 60-59 lead with 0:33 left.

After a few trips to the free throw line, the Chargers extended their lead to 4 with 0:08 remaining.  A fast break three from Battaile made it a one-point game with two ticks left on the clock.  Another foul in the final second sent the Chargers to the line once again, making both free throws to make it a three-point lead.  The Panthers had a chance for a buzzer-beater, but the inbound pass across midcourt was intercepted.

Battaile finished with a season-high 19 points while Tre Cobbs recorded ten.  Battaile, Sisson and Sasha Sukhanov each grabbed six rebounds.  Sukhanov and Battaile both picked up two blocks.

Wesleyan heads to Canton next weekend for a two-game road trip, taking on Malone on Thursday and Walsh on Saturday.

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