OWENSBORO, Kentucky - The Walsh University men's basketball team held off a second half battle from the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers on Saturday (Jan. 29) afternoon at the Owensboro Sportscenter. 

Walsh opened the game with a 6-2 lead in over three minutes before Kentucky Wesleyan cut the lead to one, 6-5. Over the next four and a half minutes, Garrison Keeslar scored five points of a Walsh 10-0 run for an 11-point lead with 11:01 left in the first half. The run expanded to 16-3 before Walsh held a 14-point lead with 7:34 left before halftime. KWC pulled within nine twice but Walsh led 31-17 at the halftime break.

A 7-0 Walsh run out of the gate pushed the lead to 21 (38-17) with 17:37 remaining in the game. Kentucky Wesleyan chipped away for the duration of the second half as they got within 61-60 in the final minute. The Panthers used a 43-23 rally in over 16 minutes to make it a game. Garrison Keeslar sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left as Walsh escaped with a 63-60 win over Kentucky Wesleyan.

• Score: Walsh 63, Kentucky Wesleyan 60
• Location: Owensboro, Kentucky (Owensboro Sportscenter)
• Records: Kentucky Wesleyan 10-12 (5-9), Walsh 13-5 (9-3)

FOR THE CAVALIERS

• Garrison Keeslar used another double-double and almost a triple-double to lead the Cavaliers. Keeslar tallied 14 points on five field goals and three free throws. He grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out eight assists and had five steals. 
• Tim Smith Jr. scored 13 points with five field goals and a trio of threes to go with eight boards. 
• Caleb Canter converted five-of-nine shots and one free throw in an 11-point effort and eight rebounds.
• Brent Walker added eight points off the bench with four-of-four shooting. 
• Walsh shot 38.1% (24-63) for the game with eight three pointers. Smith Jr. led the team with three threes. Owen Hazelbaker had a pair of three pointers as Milan Square, Keeslar and Darryl Straugher each had one. 

FOR THE PANTHERS

• Wyatt Battaile led all scorers with 20 points, making three threes and seven free throws. 
• Jordan Roland nailed five threes for a total of 15 points.
• Sasha Sukhanov had 11 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks for KWC.  
• Kentucky Wesleyan shot 16% (4-25) in the first half with eight free throws made. The team warmed to 33.3% overall on 19-of-57 shooting. They led the three pointer battle 11-8 and the free throw category 11-7. 

Walsh will head back home for a non-conference matchup on Thursday (Feb. 3) with the Carlow Celtics at 5:00 PM.

-WC-