Lexington, Ky. – In the first action of the year for the Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team, the Panthers were downed 123 - 52 by the Kentucky Wildcats in an exhibition matchup at Rupp Arena on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders, playing with an incredibly fast pace on their way to an early 27-6 lead.
Wesleyan kept battling, as Edward Jones Jr. and Quentin Toles led the way with six points apiece in the first half that included a high-flying dunk by the former, but Kentucky took a 60-24 lead into the locker room.
The Wildcats hot shooting continued into the second half, with Kentucky shooting 63% from the field and 50% from three-point range. The defending G-MAC regular season champions wouldn't quit fighting against what is sure to be their stiffest competition of the season, making several impressive plays of their own down the stretch.
In the end, Jones Jr. and Kennedy Miles finished as the leading scorers for the Panthers with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Fatih Huyuk battled on the boards all game with seven on top of four points by the big man.
Kentucky was led by Jaxson Robinson's 19 points and Otega Oweh's 18 points. The Wildcats fast-paced offense led to eight players scoring in double figures in the first game of the Mark Pope era.
The Panthers have a couple weeks off before officially beginning the season vs. the Indianapolis Greyhounds on the road. Tipoff is set for 6:30 PM on November 8th.
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