OWENSBORO, KY - Looking for their first win of the season, the Kentucky Wesleyan Men's Basketball team matched up with Miles on Wednesday night, who have qualified for each of the last four NCAA Tournaments. In what was a defensive battle, the Panthers overcame some early shortcomings to come back and take down the Bears by a score of 53-49. This game victory was extra sweet, as the Bears took down the Panthers by six in Alabama last year. 

Wesleyan now moves to 1-2 (0-0 G-MAC), while Miles sits a 1-1 (0-0 SIAC). 

Things looked grim early for the Panthers, as they went down 10-3 after five minutes of play. Miles kept pushing, and extended their lead to 26-15 with 3:48 left in the half. Kaeveon Mitchell then put the team on his back, going on a solo 8-0 run to bring the Panthers within three. Both teams made layups late and Wesleyan went into the break down 28-25. 

It was a back-and-forth battle in the second half, with Miles holding on to a single-digit lead for most of the opening 10 minutes of the frame. The momentum seemed to shift around the 12 minute mark, as Alex Gray hit two free throws, then Edward Jones Jr. knocked in a three to give Wesleyan a 38-35 lead. Miles battled back and took the lead, but with 5:04 left in the game, Jones Jr. made a turnaround layup to tie things up a 46-46. Borja Fernandez then came alive, scoring Wesleyan's final seven points to lead them to victory. The Panther defense also locked in, as they allowed just one point over the final 3:35. 

Borja Fernandez led the way with 13 points on 5-for-12 from the field. He nearly notched a double-double, coming down with a team high nine boards as well. Kennedy Miles had a stat line of eight points, six boards, five assists, and three steals, while Alex Gray was a man amongst boys on the boards, hauling in a season high five offensive rebounds. 

All things considered, it was a fairly poor shooting night for both teams. The Panthers went 19-for-54 (35.2%) from the field and just 4-for-24 (16.7%) from three, while Miles was 19-for-49 (38.8%) from the field and 4-for-16 (25%) from behind the arc. Neither team turned the ball over much, with Miles coughing it up 10 times and Wesleyan just five, but the Panther's 12-0 advantage on points-off-turnovers was the difference in the game. 

Men's Basketball will be back at home this weekend when they take on Simmons College of Kentucky on Saturday, November 18th. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. 

A reminder to any fan who missed the news, the Panther's contest vs. Delta State that was originally scheduled for Monday has now been moved to Saturday, January 13th at 11 a.m. CT. 

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