OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team (15-9, 9-7 G-MAC) earned a thorough ___ victory over Malone Thursday evening inside the Owensboro Sportscenter.
Wesleyan extended their all-time series lead to 15-7, ending a two-game losing streak in the series. Prior to that streak, the Panthers had won the previous five matchups.
Early in the first half, Armandas Plintauskas hit two threes and Ke'Andre Jones tallied a putback layup as Wesleyan trailed by one at 9-8. Malone scored the next eight points to extend their advantage to 17-8 with a little over 12 minutes to play.
Looking for a spark out of the under-12 timeout with the Panthers trailing 17-10, head coach Drew Cooper subbed in Caleb Mackrey and Tavion Williams. Those two changed the first half and the game, helping KWC close the opening 20 minutes on an overall 24-6 run.
Mackrey had 14 points on 5-6 shooting and 4-5 from three and Williams had two blocked shots and played with a ton of energy as both played the final 12 minutes of the half. Wesleyan led 34-23 going into the break.
The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the night and led by as much as 20 in the game. Wesleyan recorded more points in the paint (26-24), points off turnovers (12-2), and bench points (23-9).
Plintauskas led the way with 19 points, four rebounds, and two assists while making five of 11 threes. Jorge Sanchez-Ramos put up 17 points, five rebounds, six assists, and one steal as he continues to make a strong case for best point guard in the G-MAC.
Mackrey totaled 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots. Ke'Andre Jones was the only other double-digit scorer with 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and four steals.
Williams, in a season-high 25 minutes, logged four points, four rebounds, and four blocked shots.
The Panthers are next set to celebrate Senior Day versus the Walsh Cavaliers on Saturday, February 14th, at 2:15 PM. Wesleyan will honor seniors Plintauskas, Sanchez-Ramos, Mackrey, Fatih Huyuk, LaVonte Harris, and Carter Bischoff.
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