OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team (5-4, 1-2 G-MAC) led wire-to-wire on their way to a 72-65 victory over Ashland Thursday evening.
The Panthers used some hot shooting to build an early 20-9 lead, an advantage that would not be relinquished even as Ashland kept the score close throughout. Armandas Plintauskas, Caleb Mackrey, and Ke'Andre Jones each hit two three-pointers amidst the opening run.
The Eagles (6-3, 1-1 G-MAC) continued to chip away, coming within five at one point late in the half, but Wesleyan had an answer each time Ashland inched closer. The Panthers led 38-30 at the break after LaVonte Harris nailed a three of his own on Wesleyan's final possession.
Coming out of halftime, the Eagles cut their deficit to three multiple times, but the road team couldn't claw any closer.
Wesleyan reeled off an 8-0 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Harris and Jorge Sanchez-Ramos, to build an 11-point advantage with just over 14 minutes remaining.
Later, after the Eagles again came within three, the Panthers went on a timely 10-4 run to increase their lead back to nine at 60-51, capped off by another Plintauskas three-pointer.
Fatih Huyuk netted back-to-back hook shots in the waning minutes and the Panthers hit enough of their late free throws to finalize their first G-MAC triumph of the season, 72-65.
The balanced attack that Wesleyan has leaned on all season continued. Mackrey had a season-high 17 points and added five rebounds to lead the way.
Plintauskas tallied 13 points and eight rebounds, Sanchez-Ramos recorded 11 points and seven assists, and Harris joined him with 11 points and three rebounds.
Ke'Andre Jones rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Huyuk added eight points and three rebounds while doing a strong job on the defensive end as the primary defender for the reigning G-MAC Player of the Year, Maceo Williams, holding him to just nine points on the night.
The Panthers will look to continue their momentum this Saturday, December 13, versus the Tiffin Dragons. Tipoff is set for 2:15 PM inside the Owensboro Sportscenter and the game will be broadcast live on FloCollege.
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