The Kentucky Wesleyan College men’s basketball team saw its season end on Thursday night at the historic Sportscenter. The Panthers suffered a 64-55 loss to Cedarville University in the quarterfinals of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Panthers (10-6) got off to a slow start in the contest as the Yellow Jackets (11-8) took an 11-4 lead through the first seven minutes of the game. Wesleyan rotated eight players on and off the court throughout the night as Jo Griffin played all 40 minutes.
Midway through the first half the Panthers trailed 17-6. Back-to-back three-point baskets from Wyatt Battaile and Griffin cut the deficit to five points. A few possessions later, Nate Boyle connected on another three-point bucket that pulled Wesleyan to 19-15 at the seven-minute mark.
The run ended at 14-4 as Griffin’s next three-point basket saw the Yellow Jackets’ lead trimmed to one-point. Tarik Dixon’s basket in the final 30 seconds made the halftime deficit 31-29.
Cedarville built a lead as big as 10 points in the second half, the latest being with 7:24 left in the game. Battaile converted back-to-back jumpers to cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to six. The Panthers got within five, 56-51, after Griffin’s three with less than four minutes left, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get.
Cedarville came up empty on ensuing possessions, but the Panthers could not track down the late rebounds. Battaile finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Griffin also finished with 13 points and four assists. Dixon added 11 points while Jamil Wilson finished with 10 points.
This is a KWC Athletics press release.
