OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team (13-8, 7-6 G-MAC) trailed by as many as 13 before mounting a comeback on their way to an 86-73 victory over Findlay Thursday night.
Armandas Plintauskas hit consecutive threes to put the Panthers up 6-2 early, but Findlay (13-8, 7-6 G-MAC) went on a 24-12 run to build a 26-18 advantage with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Wesleyan followed with a quick 10-2 burst to tie the game at 28. Jorge Sanchez-Ramos hit a three-pointer and two free throws to help power the Panthers back to a draw.
The Oilers had their own quick response, scoring 13 of the next 15 points en route to a 43-30 lead with under three minutes remaining.
KWC closed the half on a much needed 8-2 run to inch closer at 45-38 at the break. Fatih Huyuk had six of those eight points, with two of his layups being assisted by Sanchez-Ramos.
The second half was all Wesleyan. The Panthers outscored the Oilers by 20 points, 48-28, in the latter half and, in total, recorded a 56-30 run to close out the game.
Findlay came within six with over five minutes to play in the game, but KWC scored the next eight points on buckets by four different Panthers to put the finishing touches on the eventual 86-73 triumph.
All six of the Panthers' top rotation players had strong nights. Sanchez-Ramos, the reigning G-MAC Athlete of the Week, put up 22 points, nine assists, five rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot to continue his torrid stretch. His big man, Huyuk, logged 17 points, three assists, and two steals in the win.
Ke'Andre Jones did a little bit of everything with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a blocked shot, Plintauskas totaled 15 points and three three-pointers, and Caleb Mackrey rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot, and one steal.
Although LaVonte Harris couldn't get going scoring wise, he impressed in other areas with 13 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots, and a steal on top of his five points.
The Panthers are back inside the Owensboro Sportscenter this Saturday, January 31st, to take on Ohio Dominican at 12:15 PM. The game will be streamed live on FloCollege and fans can listen on 94.7 WBIO.
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