KWC men, women pick up big road wins

December 7, 2018 | 12:32 am

Updated December 7, 2018 | 12:32 am

Illustration by the Owensboro Times

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for Kentucky Wesleyan college picked up important road wins Thursday against conference newcomer Tiffin University.

The edged out a 71-67 victory as Adam Goetz made 14 free-throws and finished with a career high 25 points. The women earned their fourth consecutive win with a 82-65 victory behind Emma Johnson’s career high 21 points.

MEN
The supporting cast played a key role as Erik Bell left the game early with an injury. Wesleyan (3-3, 2-0) finished the game with a 27-12 advantage in bench points as the duo of Zach Hopewell and Cameron Cartwright combined for 20 points.

The game started with the Panthers building as much as a 14-point lead in the opening period. The Dragons attempted to make a run late, cutting the deficit to 33-25 with two minutes left, but Hopewell buried back-to-back 3-point shots to return a 14-point lead to Wesleyan.

A 39-28 halftime advantage was cut to 46-40 in only five minutes, and the Dragons continued chipping away. Tiffin went on 13-3 run to tie the contest at 55 with eight minutes left.

In the last 90 seconds, Goetz hit important free throws on two separate occasions to help give the Panthers the lead for good.

The Panthers were forced into 22 turnovers on the night, but made up for it by converting 22 of 26 free throws. Goetz grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists to go along with his 25 points. Deng Mayot added 15 points and nine rebounds. Hopewell finished with 13 points off the bench, while Cartwright added seven.

The Panthers will travel to Cedarville on Saturday to conclude the three-game road trip.

WOMEN
The Panthers (4-2, 2-0) found themselves in a 13-point deficit early in the second quarter before Kaylee Clifford, Keelie Lamb, Shayla Wright and Emma Wolfe combined for 11 points in three minutes to close the gap.

Tiffin extended the lead again, but the Panthers scored 12 unanswered points, including five from Jenna Martin and four from Emma Johnson. Cali Nolot capped off the run with a 3-pointer to give Wesleyan a 34-31 lead at the break.

Midway through the third frame, Martin and Clifford drained back-to-back 3-pointers to give Wesleyan their first double-digit lead of the game. The Panthers outscored Tiffin 29-10 in the third to take a 63-41 advantage into the final quarter.

Johnson scored nine points in the final 10 minutes, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with three rebounds. Martin and Clifford scored 14 points each. Wolfe led the Panthers with nine rebounds

The Panthers will travel to Cedarville on Saturday to conclude the three-game road trip.

December 7, 2018 | 12:32 am

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