Kentucky Wesleyan’s dominance on both ends of the floor in the second half stifled Midway University as the Panthers grabbed a 72-48 in their home opener.
The Panthers got on the board first thanks to a nice spin move from junior Ben Sisson, but former Owensboro Red Devil Corey Gardner had Midway reeling offensively out of the gate.
Gardner kept defenders on their toes early as he had earned seven of the Eagles nine, with them jumping out to a 9-5 lead with 15:37 left in the first half.
However, Jamil Wilson came in off the bench and provided a spark for Kentucky Wesleyan offensively, pushing them to a 16-13 lead with 11:50 left in the first half.
The Panthers continued to attack the offensive glass—they finished with 16 second chance points by halftime—and were doing a good job of spreading the ball around, going on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 25-20.
After switching to zone about halfway through the game, Midway started to lower Kentucky Wesleyan’s shooting percentage from the floor.
This carried throughout the remainder of the first half, as the Eagles clawed their way back to a 34-33 lead going into the locker room.
Junior Jomel Boyd was leading the way offensively for the Panthers at halftime, posting 12 points and six boards.
While Kentucky Wesleyan shot a respectable 39% from the field in the first half overall, their marksmanship from deep was lackluster going 1-12.
With this in mind, Head Coach Drew Cooper said they emphasized pounding the ball inside and trying to finish at the rim or draw contact.
This plan worked to perfection, as the Panthers were in the bonus five minutes into the second half. This led to them grabbing a 46-37 lead with 13:54 left to play.
Continuing to control the pace of the game by living at the line primarily, Kentucky Wesleyan’s defense was also locked in. The Panthers were in sync and were able to hold the Eagles to just four points just over to take a 55-37 lead with 7:39 left to play.
These efforts were more than enough for Kentucky Wesleyan to fend off Midway, walking away with a 72-48 win in its home opener.
Cooper was pleased to see his team take heed to the staff preaching that the Eagles offense could pose a threat, as they were able to focus and limit them to 22% shooting in the second half.
“Our guys really respected them,” Cooper said. “And that was good to see because you tell them all week ‘if you don’t show up this team will come and beat you. They have some explosive scorers’, but you still don’t know if they believe. Our guys really believed us and did a great job of respecting how explosive they are from a personnel standpoint.”
Sisson was one of those who thrived for the Panthers when they focused on dominating the paint, as 17 points in the second half led to him leading all scorers with 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the field and 7-9 from the line to go along with six rebounds.
Cooper said he feels as though Sisson entered the offseason with the mindset that he could do monumental things at this level and has put forth a lot of work to make himself capable of these dominant performances.
“Ben’s playing great basketball,” Cooper said. “He really is… Nobody is surprised. He’s done this all preseason… He’s been great. He’s been as good of a leader as we have on our team.”
Boyd finished with a double-double tallying 15 points on 6-10 shooting while grabbing 12 boards. Wilson was the other Panther to finish in double figures, scoring 11 points on 4-9 shooting while dishing out nine assists off the bench.
Wilson’s playing in his fifth year and has taken on the role of coming off the bench well, leading the team by example and making them better with his play according to Cooper.
“We’re not starting him and it’s like he could be pouting,” Cooper said. “From the moment that happened he stepped out against UK and really led us… I told Jamil I’m really comfortable bringing him off the bench.”
Cooper knows that there is still room for improvement, but knows that if this team can finish off the week strong they are taking a strong step forward to what they feel could be a special season. They key to doing that—staying strong in all facets of the game.
“Our guys know this is a talented group and that our potential is there,” Cooper said. “Our guys are not fearful of anyone on our schedule at all. The next four months is going to be about how tough we are between the ears. Are we going to have the mental and physical toughness to be a championship basketball team? That’s going to be a challenge that our leadership really needs to take on right now.”
Kentucky Wesleyan will hit the hardwood at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday for its next matchup, hosting East-West University at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
