PAINESVILLE, OH - The 'Thers are on fire right now. A 76-74 victory at Lake Erie this afternoon gives Kentucky Wesleyan their first six game winning streak since the 2017-18 campaign. Head Coach Drew Cooper's squad had to work for this one, as after finding themselves down by eight at the break, the Panther's outscored Lake Erie 48-38 in the second half to get the win. 

Kentucky Wesleyan improves to 6-2 (3-0 G-MAC), while Lake Erie falls to 3-7 (1-2 G-MAC). 

Things started off well early for the visitors, as buckets from Logan McIntire, NaVuan Peterson, and Kaeveon Mitchell gave the Panthers an early 13-5 lead. Wesleyan didn't let up, extending their lead to 10 (22-12) with 9:22 left in the contest, thanks to a jumper off the hands of McIntire. Lake Erie then put on the pressure, forcing the Panthers to shoot just 2-11 from the field for the rest of the half, limiting them to just six points. On the flip side, Lake Erie went on a 24-6 run during that time period, giving them a 36-28 lead at the break.

If there's one thing this Panther's team is good at, it is not letting games slip away. Despite the Storm hitting multiple shots and converting on their free throws early in the second half, Wesleyan stayed in it. Borja Fernandez made two layups, while Alex Gray and Kennedy Miles each had big buckets to keep the game within arms reach. Midway through the half, the Panthers went on a big 14-2 run to re-take the lead at 54-51. Highlighting this run were back-to-back threes from Mitchell and McIntire to cut the lead to just one. Lake Erie came back to take a 58-56 lead a few minutes later, but Miles drove in the lane for a big and-1 layup to give Wesleyan back the lead, a lead they would not relinquish. The Storm cut it back to one (66-65) with 4:23 left in the game, but Miles made a layup and big game Gray hit a huge three to make it a two-possession game. Wesleyan hit their free throws late to seal the two-point victory. 

It was the tale of two halves for Wesleyan, as they scored just 28 points on 11-29 (37.9%) shooting in the first, and 48 on 17-30 (56.7%) in the second half. Both teams locked down their perimeter defense, as Wesleyan went just 6-22 (27.3%) from three and Lake Erie went 6-27 (22.2%). 

Logan McIntire led the Panthers off the bench with 19 points on 7-12 from the field. Also scoring in double-figures were Kennedy Miles (16) and Alex Gray (12). Miles led the team with seven assists and two steals, while senior Borja Fernandez nearly notched a double-double with nine points and 10 boards. 

The Panthers will be at home for their next contest, as they host East-West University in a non-conference battle on Thursday, December 14th. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. 

Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCpanthers on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page.