OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team (14-8, 8-6 G-MAC) narrowly prevailed 73-71 in overtime over Ohio Dominican inside the Sportscenter on Saturday.
Wesleyan now leads the all-time series 14-2 and has won 12 of the last 13 matchups.
The Panthers fought their way to an early 16-9 advantage after Ke'Andre Jones and Jorge Sanchez-Ramos scored seven points each in the early going.
KWC led by as much as 11 in the first half, but three consecutive threes by Ohio Dominican (13-8, 7-6 G-MAC) pushed the opposing Panthers right back in it. A slam by Jones and a three-pointer from Sanchez-Ramos helped Wesleyan go into halftime up 36-30.
For the first 10 minutes of the second half, the home Panthers maintained a comfortable lead. With Wesleyan leading by 12 at 51-39, ODU reeled off eight straight points to pull within four at 51-47 with just under eight minutes to go.
Every time Ohio Dominican made a run, Wesleyan had a response. The Panthers managed to extend their lead back out to double digits at 65-55 with a little over three minutes remaining, highlighted by three-pointers from Sanchez-Ramos, Caleb Mackrey, and LaVonte Harris.
Thanks to a mix of rushed possessions and turnovers, ODU found themselves down just one with 18 seconds to go. The road team was forced to foul Mackrey, who hit both free throws to increase Wesleyan's advantage back to three at 67-64.
On the ensuing possession, Ohio Dominican's Derek Goodman came off a screen and had three Panthers jump at him to defend his attempted three-pointer. A shooting foul was called on Sanchez-Ramos, and Goodman stepped to the line and knocked down all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
After a low-scoring first three and a half minutes in the extra period, Ohio Dominican led 71-69 with 1:29 to play. Sanchez-Ramos connected on a back cut with LaVonte Harris for a tough game-tying layup, and after Wesleyan earned a stop on defense, Sanchez-Ramos was fouled on a scramble for a loose ball with just a second left. The reigning G-MAC Athlete of the Week hit both free throws to seal a wild fourth consecutive victory for KWC.
Sanchez-Ramos totaled 24 points and six assists to lead the way in the scoring column. Jones shined again as well with 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots, and two steals.
Mackrey (10 points, two assists), Harris (eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots, and a steal), and Fatih Huyuk (eight points, nine rebounds, and two steals) also played large roles in the victory.
The Panthers next travel to Ashland, Ohio, to take on the Eagles at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 7th. Fans can watch live on FloCollege or listen live on 94.7 WBIO.
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