OWENSBORO, KY - The best defense in the G-MAC did it again, holding Michigan Tech to just 53 points en-route to a 69-53 non-conference victory. This is the fifth time Wesleyan has held their opponent to under 60 points, and their 60.8 opponent ppg is fifth in all of DII. 

Coach Drew Cooper has this team rolling, as Wesleyan is 8-2 for the first time since 2016-17 when they went 28-3 and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Michigan Tech, who made it all the way to the GLIAC championship game last year, sits at 2-7 (1-1 GLIAC). 

Wesleyan took control of this one early, as they never trailed in the contest. It was the Borja Fernandez and Edward Jones Jr. show to begin the game, as they combined to score the Panther's first 15 points, giving the visitors a 15-8 lead. Two threes from Kaeveon Mitchell and another from Aleksa Rakic extended Wesleyan's lead to 24-12 with 8:28 remaining in the half. The teams continued to go back-and-forth from there, with the Panthers holding on to their double-digit lead thanks to some big buckets from Kennedy Miles and Alex Gray. The Huskies took advantage of some late misses by Wesleyan and scored the last four points of the half. Despite this, Wesleyan still led by nine (34-25) at the break.

Back-to-back threes from Kennedy Miles and Borja Fernandez ignited a 10-0 Wesleyan run to open the second half, giving the Panthers a quick 44-25 lead. The Huskies attempted a minor comeback, cutting the lead down to 11, but a steal from Kennedy Miles and a fast break dunk from Edward Jones Jr. turned the tide back in favor of the Panthers. Kaeveon Mitchell hit another late three, as Wesleyan comfortably cruised to the 16-point victory. 

Kentucky Wesleyan has never lost to the Huskies, moving their all-time record to 5-0 over their foes from the north.

Wesleyan shot over 60% from the field in the second half, allowing them to shoot 51.9% (27-52) from the field in the game, and 8-21 (38.1%) from three. The tough Panther defense held the Huskies to just 19-63 (30.2%) from the field and 8-20 (40%) from behind the arc. 

Leading the way for the Panthers was none other than Borja Fernandez, who recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds to give him the first double-double of his Panther career. Also finishing in double-figures was Kaeveon Mitchell (14), Edward Jones Jr. (13), and Kennedy Miles (10). Alex Gray was just behind Fernandez with nine boards, while Kennedy Miles continued his great point guard play with six helpers. 

The Panthers will take a break for Christmas before the travel to Ashland, Ohio on Saturday, December 30th. The nationally ranked Eagles won the G-MAC tournament last year and were projected to win the conference in the preseason coaches poll. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. 

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