Toles, McIntire pace Panthers in win

Quentin Toles poured in 25 points with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Logan McIntire produced 21 points, six boards and five assists as the Kentucky Wesleyan College men’s basketball captured a 73-62 win over IU Southeast on Wednesday at the Sportscenter.

The shorthanded Panthers (3-2) built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and extended their advantage to 45-29 at intermission before holding off a late push by the Grenadiers (2-4).

“I’m frustrated with the way that we played,” said KWC coach Drew Cooper, whose squad competed without starters Kennedy Miles and Terrence Ringo Jr., “but at the end of the day — and this is (assistant coach Joe) Krupsinki’s voice — he said we cannot go into this game and emphasize how well IU Southeast does in these games and how well-coached they are and how hard they play and then handle them in a pretty good way with a short bench and be too negative about it.

“I told the guys, with that, practice is really important for us tomorrow and Friday. We just got to keep getting better.”

KWC jumped out to an 18-8 lead following McIntire’s 3-pointer with 12:05 left in the first half, and the junior wing scored six straight points to help push the Panthers’ advantage to 36-20 seven minutes later.

“Logan had as good of a preseason as anyone, he really did,” Cooper said. “In September and October, we walked out of practice a handful of times like, ‘Wow, Logan just put on a show.’ … He earned his spot with a great, great fall, and hopefully, he keeps doubling down on what’s been a very good start for him.”

KWC led by 16 points at halftime and scored 16 of the first 20 points of the second half to seize a 59-35 advantage.

However, IU Southeast didn’t fold.

Logan Lauderbaugh, who notched a game-best 28 points for the Grenadiers, scored to spark an 8-0 run over the final 4:16 — but IU Southeast couldn’t get any closer from there.

“The bottom line is we got to play better,” Cooper…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/toles-mcintire-pace-panthers-win-045900529.html

Author : Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Publish date : 2024-11-22 04:59:00

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