OWENSBORO, Ky. (Nov. 29) – The Wheeling University men's basketball team outscored Kentucky Wesleyan by 25 points in the second half of its 73-58 win to open the Thanksgiving Classic presented by Hampton Inn by Hilton Friday night inside the Sportscenter.
 
The Cardinals remain unbeaten at 5-0 this season, while the Panthers drop to 1-4 overall.
 
Sophomore guard Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) scored a game-high 21 points to lead the team. He shot 6-of-11, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, and added five rebounds and two assists in the win.
 
Sophomore forward Emmanuel Ansong (Bordentown, N.J./Canterbury School) added 19 points and six boards, while junior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) chipped in 14 points in the win.
 
A three pointer by senior center Jeremiah April (Phoenix, Ariz./Joy Christian) gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead one minute into the game. Kentucky Wesleyan reclaimed the lead at 5-3 two minutes later and did not trail until back-to-back treys by Gentry made the score 15-14 with 11:29 in the first half.
 
Both teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, until a run gave Kentucky Wesleyan a double-digit lead at the break. The Panthers out-scored Wheeling 13-2 during the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 38-28 lead into halftime.
 
The Cardinals came out strong in the second half. Wheeling went on a 10-3 run during the first four minutes to quickly close the gap to 41-38 at the 16-minute mark.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan re-established a nine-point lead, 49-40, with 12:28 left in the game. The Cardinals dominated the game from that point on. Wheeling went on a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to tie the game at 53 and eventually raced out to a 65-55 lead with 3:24 remaining in the contest.
 
The Cardinals maintained the double-digit lead down the stretch and went on to out-score the Panthers 33-11 over the final 12 minutes to complete the 73-58 win.
 
Wheeling shot 22-of-47 (47 percent) from the field, including 11-of-27 (41 percent) from three-point territory. Kentucky Wesleyan was limited to 7-of-28 (25 percent) in the second half, including 1-of-10 from beyond-the-arc. The Panthers ended the night shooting 24-of-58 (41 percent).
 
Joe Griffin led Kentucky Wesleyan with 11 points on the night.
 
Wheeling wraps up play in the Kentucky Wesleyan Thanksgiving Classic tomorrow, Saturday, November 30 when it takes on Tiffin in a non-conference contest at 1 p.m.