CANTON, OH - Kentucky Wesleyan shot over 50% from the field and from three in the second half, but a first half that saw them shoot just 34% from the field and hit just three shots from behind the arc doomed them in a 78-66 loss to Malone.
After falling in their opening two games, Malone has now won seven straight and has a record of 7-2 (3-0 G-MAC). Kentucky Wesleyan falls to 5-5 (1-3 G-MAC).
KWC started out well, going up 6-2 early on back-to-back threes from
Jordan Roland and
Antonio Thomas. After a Jomel Boyd layup a few minutes later to tie things up at eight, the Pioneers went on an 11-2 run to extend their lead ot 19-10 seven minutes into the game. MU kept their foot on the gas, hitting 10 of their next 18 shots to go into halftime leading the Panthers 39-21.
Roland and
Wyatt Battaile each hit shots early in the second half to cut Malone's lead to 14. With 15 minutes left to go, Roland hit a three to cut it to a 10 point game. Malone answered right back, going on a 9-2 run to extend the lead back to 17. Despite solid play from
Sasha Sukhanov, Battaile and
Keegan Brewer over the final 10 minutes of play, the Pioneers were able to hold a comfortable lead the entire time to win by 12.
Jordan Roland led the way with 19 points, followed by
Wyatt Battaile (13) and
Sasha Sukhanov (11). Roland and
Antonio Thomas each tallied four boards while Battaile notched four assists.
KWC shot 27-61 (44.3%) from the field and 10-26 (38.5%) from three. Malone shot 32-62 (51.6%) from the field and 5-22 (22.7%) from three. Wesleyan struggled to get to the line for the second straight game, as after not shooting a free throw Thursday against Walsh, they went just 2-2 today.
The Panthers will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis for Youth Mental Health Day presented by River Valley Behavior Health. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
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