Owensboro, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team earned their fourth straight victory in their 74-72 triumph over Malone on Saturday afternoon inside the Sportscenter.
It's the second two-point win over the Pioneers this season, as the Panthers downed Malone 68-66 back on December 16.
Wesleyan moved to 14-4 overall and 8-2 in the G-MAC, sending the Pioneers to 8-11 overall and 4-7 in the conference.
The Panthers got off to a fast start, reeling off a 10-2 run to begin the game featuring two Fatih Huyuk post moves for buckets.
Malone kept fighting, but Kennedy Miles' hot-shooting first half put the Pioneers on their heels. The 5th-year guard went 5-5 from the field, including four three-pointers, on his way to 14 points in the half.
Wesleyan's strong defense held Malone to 11-30 shooting at the break, including three blocked shots by Terrence Ringo Jr. that helped the Panthers to a 41-26 halftime lead.
The Pioneers weren't going to go away, though. The road team slowly began to chip in to the Panthers' lead to start the second half. Edward Jones Jr. made a layup to put Wesleyan up 17 at 45-28, but a subsequent 15-0 run by Malone pulled them within two at 45-43 with just under 14 minutes to go.
It was back-and-forth from there, and Malone managed to grab their first lead of the second half after several threes gave them a 61-60 lead with over five minutes to play. Wesleyan had a response, scoring the next eight points capped off by two Logan McIntire three-pointers to put the Panthers back in control at 68-61.
After the Pioneers cut the deficit to two once again, Alex Gray hit perhaps the biggest shot of the night, a right-wing three-pointer off a Huyuk post pass with 1:15 left to give Wesleyan a two-score lead at 71-66.
Malone cut it to two twice more in the final seconds, but Gray's three last-second free throws and a final stop solidified the Panthers win and season-sweep of Malone.
McIntire finished with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds on 7-12 from the field and 3-4 from outside the arc. Huyuk and Miles joined them in double-figures, with Huyuk notching 16 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field and Miles logging 14 points and four assists.
Gray had another all-around effort doing the dirty work for Wesleyan, totaling eight points, 11 rebounds, and five assists on the night.
Wesleyan is back home for a rare Wednesday night doubleheader, facing off against in-state rival Thomas More. The men tip at 7:45 PM, with the women preceding at 5:30 PM.
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