PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The No. 7-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan men's basketball team fell by the score of 86-80 to the No. 2-seeded Lake Erie Storm in the G-MAC Quarterfinals Tuesday evening.
Wesleyan sprinted out to a quick 7-3 lead, featuring two tip-in layups by Ke'Andre Jones and Fatih Huyuk and a three-pointer by Caleb Mackrey. The Panthers managed to build a 26-19 advantage with six minutes to go in the half, but that's when things began to go south.
From that point until halftime, Lake Erie totaled a 21-7 run to flip the momentum and led 40-33 going into the break.
The Panthers were playing from behind the rest of the way. Wesleyan just could not seem to make any leeway on the scoreboard for the majority of the second half.
With the Storm leading 68-54 with under six minutes remaining, KWC finally made a run. The Panthers went on an 11-2 burst, featuring dunks by Jones and Tavion Williams and a three-pointer by LaVonte Harris, to pull within five at 70-65 with under three minutes to go.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Panthers would get. Lake Erie immediately hit back-to-back three pointers after that Wesleyan run to effectively put the game away.
Mackrey was the star of the Panthers offense, racking up 28 points on 10-15 shooting from the field and 5-8 from outside the arc. The senior also added five steals, three rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot.
Each of Harris, Jones, Williams, and Jorge Sanchez-Ramos joined Mackrey in double digits. Williams also totaled an impressive five blocked shots.
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