Findlay, Ohio – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team came up just short in their 79-76 loss to Findlay on Saturday afternoon.
Wesleyan fell to 18-6 overall and 12-4 in the G-MAC, while the Oilers improved to 22-3 overall and 15-2 in the G-MAC.
It was a defensive battle in the first half, as both teams were struggling to put the ball in the basket and neither team led by more than three. Wesleyan scored their points from beyond the arc early, as Logan McIntire, Kennedy Miles, Alex Gray, and Edward Jones Jr. each hit a three-pointer in the first ten minutes.
Miles hit two more three-pointers followed by Jones Jr. slamming home a dunk and hitting a jumper to put Wesleyan up 27-24, but Findlay scored the last seven points of the half to go up 31-27 at the break.
The second half was much of the same, with Wesleyan trailing close behind for the majority of the 20 minutes. About midway through the half, with the Panthers down 58-54, Wesleyan went on a 9-2 run capped off by another McIntire three-pointer to take their first lead of the half at 63-60 headed into the under-eight media timeout.
From there, it was lead change after lead change in the battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the G-MAC. Jones Jr. hit a three with just under three minutes to play to put Wesleyan up 74-72, and Miles later recorded a layup with under two minutes to go to give the Panthers the lead again at 76-74.
The Oilers then responded by scoring the next five points, including the lead-taking layup with 42 seconds left. Wesleyan had a chance to tie, but Findlay was able to get one final defensive stop to hold on to the top spot in the conference.
McIntire finished with a team-high 20 points and continued his G-MAC-best shooting from beyond the arc with a 6-11 performance from three.
Jones Jr. and Miles each had 16 points, with the former shooting 6-8 from the floor and 3-4 from beyond the arc and the latter adding four rebounds and three assists. Quentin Toles did a little bit of everything with 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on the afternoon.
The Panthers return home for their final three home games of the year, first taking on Ashland on Thursday, February 20. There will not be a doubleheader on that night, as tipoff is set for 7:00 PM inside the Sportscenter.
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