Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Vikings lose at tournament

Western Washington University shot just 38.9 percent from the field as it fell 71-58 to Kentucky Wesleyan University in second-day men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Disney Tip-Off Classic being held at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Both teams had their records evened at 1-1. The Vikings were coming off an opening-round 94-70 win over Grand Canyon on Friday in which they hit 54 percent from the floor, and Kentucky Wesleyan lost 78-53 to San Francisco State.

Western, which connected on just 21 of 54 attempts from the floor, was led by the 12 points of reserve 7-foot center Dave Vanderjagt. Forward Michael Duty added 11 points for the Vikings and grabbed six rebounds.

Kentucky Wesleyan shot just 39.7 percent (23 of 58) from the field, but made 8-of-21 3-pointers. Western hit just 4 of 17 from 3-point range.

The Panthers had a 40-32 rebound advantage and had four less turnovers, 15 to 19.

Guard Desmond Stephens tallied a game-high 13 points to lead four double-figure scorers for Kentucky Wesleyan. Shawn Rouse, a 6-6 transfer from Boise State, had 12 and Chris Williams and Travis Owsley each had 11.

Panther center Jay Ivey grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points.

Kentucky Wesleyan, which never trailed in the game, led 32-22 at halftime.

Trailing, 37-24, Western scored 11 straight points to get within two, 37-35 with 15:50 remaining on a 3-pointer by Andrew Ready. But the Panthers went on a 19-4 run over the next 8:32 for their biggest lead of 17 points, 56-39, with 7:28 to go.

The Vikings never got closer than 11 after that.

It was Western's first meeting with Kentucky Wesleyan, which has won eight NCAA Division II national championships, the last one coming in 2001. The Panthers were 19-9 last year and advanced to the NCAA II tournament.

KENTUCKY WESLEYAN 71, WESTERN WASHINGTON 58

WESTERN WASHINGTON - MEN (1-1)

Vanderjagt,Dave 4-7 4-5 12; Duty,Michael 5-10 0-0 11; Ready,Andrew 2-7 1-2 7; Anderson,Morris 3-8 0-0 6; Blanche,Rory 3-5 0-0 6; Bruce,Zach 2-4 2-3 6; Webb,Derrick 0-5 5-5 5; Severson,Cameron 2-5 0-0 5; Mitchell,Chris 0-0 0-0 0; Woodworth,Richard 0-3 0-0 0; McAllister,Harold 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54, 12-15 58.

KENTUCKY WESLEYAN (1-1)

Stephens,Desmond 2-4 7-8 13; Rouse,Shawn 3-4 6-6 12; Owsley,Travis 5-9 0-0 11; Williams,Chris 4-10 0-0 11; Ivey,Jay 2-7 4-8 8; Stinson,Marico 3-8 0-0 7; Zuffa,Maros 2-7 0-0 4; McKnight,Breland 1-4 0-2 3; Wilson,Andree' 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 23-58 17-24 71.

Half: KW 32, WWU 22

3-point goals-Western Washington 4-17 (Ready,Andrew 2-5; Duty,Michael 1-3; Severson,Cameron 1-1; Webb,Derrick 0-3; Woodworth,Richard 0-2; Anderson,Morris 0-3), Kentucky Wesleyan 8-21 (Williams,Chris 3-8; Stephens,Desmond 2-2; McKnight,Breland 1-1; Stinson,Marico 1-5; Owsley,Travis 1-1; Wilson,Andree' 0-1; Zuffa,Maros 0-2; Rouse,Shawn 0-1).

Fouled out-Western Washington, Severson,Cameron, Kentucky Wesleyan, None. Rebounds-Western Washington 32 (Duty,Michael 6; Webb,Derrick 6), Kentucky Wesleyan 40 (Ivey,Jay 10). Assists-Western Washington 14 (Anderson,Morris 4), Kentucky Wesleyan 13 (Stephens,Desmond 5; Owsley,Travis 5). Total fouls-Western Washington 19, Kentucky Wesleyan 19. Technical fouls-Western Washington None, Kentucky Wesleyan-None. A-347