The Kentucky Wesleyan College men’s basketball team couldn’t hold on to a double-digit lead in the second half, falling 82-68 to Alderson Broaddus in the final home game of the season.
With the win, the Battlers (12-14, 8-10 G-MAC) move one game ahead of the Panthers (9-15, 7-11 G-MAC) in the conference standings for the last spot in the conference tournament. With two games to play, Wesleyan has to win the final two games to have a shot at the postseason.
Head coach Drew Cooper said everyone knew how big a win would be for whichever team came out on top.
“We needed today,” he said. “I think our whole team know that. That was the elephant in the room coming in. Next week is going to be a character week in terms of how we’re going to practice and how we conduct ourselves on the road.”
The Panthers trailed early but used a 15-5 run to take a lead late in the first half. A bucket by Tyler Bezold put them on top 28-27 with six minutes left, and they held a 39-36 advantage at halftime.
A 3-pointer by Cameron Cartwright put Wesleyan up 55-42 with 13:45 to play for their biggest lead of the night. From there, the Battlers went on a tear to take a commanding lead of their own.
The Panthers were unable to provide an answer and trailed by double digits for most of the final four minutes. Cooper said after starting the game strong, Wesleyan fell flat near the end.
“I felt we came out with some toughness and some leadership,” he said. “We just didn’t sustain it. When they made a run in the second half, we kind of reverted and stood up on defense and just hoped they missed. We didn’t play to win the game on the defensive side of the ball when it got difficult for us.”
Adam Goetz finished the game with 22 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Tyler Bezold added 11 points and five rebounds.
Wesleyan closes out the season on the road next week at the University of Findlay and Hillsdale College, who currently sit first and third in the conference, respectively.
Scoring
ABU 36-46–82
KWC 39-29–68
KWC: Adam Goetz 22, Tyler Bezold 11, Deng Mayot 9, Zach Hopewell 8, Cameron Cartwright 8, Mohamed Abu Arisha 6, Erik Bell 4
