OWENSBORO, KY - Playing for the first time in 2024, the Panthers showed why they are one of the top teams in the G-MAC. Wesleyan held the Malone Pioneers to just 33% shooting from the floor en-route to a convincing 73-59 victory on Thursday night. This was the sixth time the Panther's held an opponent under 40% shooting on the year.

Borja Fernandez, Edward Jones Jr., and NaVuan Peterson combined to score 57 of the Panther's 73 points. 

Wesleyan improves to 9-3 (4-1 G-MAC), while Malone falls to 8-5 (1-4 G-MAC). 

Kentucky Wesleyan never trailed in this one, as an early Alex Gray layup capped off an 8-0 run to start the game for the home side. Edward Jones Jr. continued to push, extending the Panther's lead thanks to a layup and a powerful dunk that ignited the Sportscenter crowd. Borja Fernandez took advantage of his size mismatch in the paint, scoring six straight points in the middle of the opening half to make it 23-12 Wesleyan with 6:27 remaining. The teams traded buckets over the next few minutes, and a few three pointers from Malone made it a six-point (32-26) Wesleyan lead at the break.

Despite the minimal lead, the Wesleyan defense held strong in the opening half, holding the Pioneers to just 4-18 (22.2%) from three. 

Any doubt that the Panthers would win this game was put away within the first four minutes of the second half, as the home side quickly jumped out to a 43-27 lead thanks to an 11-1 run to open the half. To their credit, Malone never quit fighting. The Pioneers managed to make it just a six-point game with 13:04 left in the game, but back-to-back buckets from NaVuan Peterson and Kennedy Miles quickly brought the Panther lead back to double digits. The Wesleyan lead hung around that 8-10 point mark for the rest of the game, with Peterson and Jones Jr. coming up with some big buckets down the stretch. Late layups from Jones Jr. and Fernandez game the Panthers the 14-point victory. 

Wesleyan shot 26-54 (48.1%) from the field and 4-12 (33.3%) from three. The Panther defense had a big effect on the Pioneers, as they shot just 19-56 (33.9%) from the field and 10-38 (26.3%) from three. Free throws were a major part of the Panther's victory, as they were 17-23 from the charity stripe, their third most makes in a game this season. 

The Panther's dominated in the paint, outscoring their smaller counterparts 42-14 in that category. 

Borja Fernandez was fantastic tonight, scoring a season high 22 points on an efficient 9-13 from the floor. Not far behind him were Edward Jones Jr. (18) and NaVuan Peterson (17). Jones Jr. nearly notched a double-double, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, while Kennedy Miles led the way with five assists and two steals. 

The Panthers will have a chance at redemption on Saturday as they take on the Ashland Eagles at the Owensboro Sportscenter. In their last game of 2023, Wesleyan was bested by the Eagles by just eight points, snapping their G-MAC leading eight-game winning streak. Tipoff for that contest is set for 2:15 p.m. CT. 

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