OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team (9-6, 3-4 G-MAC) got back in the win column with an 88-81 victory over Hillsdale on Thursday afternoon inside the Owensboro Sportscenter.
The all-time series between the two programs is now tied at nine wins each. Wesleyan has come out on top in the last two matchups versus the Chargers.
Neither team led by more than four in a first half that was as tightly contested as you'll see. Fatih Huyuk was a force to be reckoned with early and often, scoring six of Wesleyan's first eight points to begin the game.
The Panthers got going from the three-point line midway through the half. LaVonte Harris and Ke'Andre Jones hit back-to-back threes right before the under-12 timeout. Later, Caleb Mackrey and Armandas Plintauskas knocked down consecutive threes of their own as the Panthers continued to throw punches.
Huyuk closed the opening 20 minutes with a layup and a dunk to cap off his 10-point first half as Wesleyan trailed by just two going into the locker room, 38-36.
The second half was much of the same. Both teams struggled to earn any space on the scoreboard until a 6-0 run, highlighted by a Jorge Sanchez-Ramos three-pointer, to take a 67-63 lead with nine minutes to play.
Later, with the Chargers (5-9, 2-4 G-MAC) down just four, Plintauskas nailed two straight threes with a Hillsdale bucket in between to give Wesleyan full control at 85-77. Clutch free throws put the game away and gave KWC a much-needed 88-81 triumph.
It was a full team effort for Wesleyan in the victory. Huyuk tallied 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, and Plintauskas logged 20 points and six three-pointers to lead the way.
Sanchez-Ramos wasn't far behind with 18 points and a career-high 12 assists. Ke'Andre Jones did a little of everything with 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a blocked shot.
The Panthers are back inside the Owensboro Sportscenter on Saturday, January 10th, for a 2:15 PM matchup versus Northwood. The game will be streamed live on FloCollege and fans can listen on 94.7 WBIO.
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