The Kentucky Wesleyan College men’s basketball team suffered to 74-68 loss to Indiana University Southeast in the final game of their weekend tournament Saturday.
The Panthers also lost Friday night, falling 79-70 to Salem University in the first game of the Kentucky Wesleyan College Thanksgiving Classic presented by Hampton Inn by Hilton at the Sportscenter.
The Panthers held leads in both games but weren’t able to hole on. In Saturday’s game, Kentucky Wesleyan held a double-digit lead at the break, but a hot shooting IUSE team came charging back in the second half.
The Panthers (1-3) used strong defense and timely shooting to build a 31-19 lead in the first half, knocking down six 3-pointers. Adam Goetz hit half thosea and started the game with nine points.
However, turnovers ended up proving costly after the Panthers turned the ball over 12 times in the opening half and finished the game with 21.
The Grenadiers (5-3) first went in front at 43-42, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Deng Mayot and Cameron Cartwright sparked a 12-3 run with less than nine minutes left in the game.
IUSE responded with a 12-0 run of their own to take a 58-54 lead that they never gave up.
Mayot came off the bench to score 15 points and grab 11 rebounds for a double-double. Erik Bell added 14 points, while Goetz finished with 12. Mohamed Abu Arisha finished with 14 rebounds to go along with seven points.
Against Salem, the Panthers built an 18-13 lead before the Tigers used a 13-2 run that gave them a lead they carried into halftime. Kentucky Wesleyan regained the advantage in the second half but couldn’t hold on late.
Wesleyan’s bench scored 29 points, led by 15 points and six rebounds by Zavon Godwin. Cartwright added 12 points and two assists. Mayot had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Goetz finished with 11. Bell scored 10 points and had nine assists. Abu Arisha grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Panthers travel to Nashville, Tenn., at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday to open Great Midwest Conference play against Trevecca Nazarene.
