Box Score OWENSBORO, Ky. – In a tale of two halves, an accumulation of Missouri S&T turnovers and free throws by Kentucky Wesleyan in the first half that led to a late first half run that proved to be decisive in a 92-83 Panther victory Saturday in the championship game of the KWC Holiday Tournament.

Thanks to 15 S&T turnovers in the first half – several of them in the latter stages of the period – and a parade to the free throw line, the Panthers outscored the Miners 13-6 to finish the half and turn a three-point lead into a 10-point advantage by the intermission.   The Panthers scored 23 points in the first half at the foul line and an additional 17 off the turnovers.

Kentucky Wesleyan extended that lead to as many as 14 points early in the second half, then held off the Miners' repeated rally efforts in the second half to drop the Miners to 3-3 on the year.

Danylo Zuikov (Kiev, Ukraine/LaLumiere School) kept the Miners on even terms with the Panthers (3-5) in the early stages of the contest, nailing four three-pointers in the first 11 minutes.  His fourth trey with 9:10 to play in the half got the Miners to within one at 23-22.

S&T tied the score at 30 when Zach Ellis hit a pair of free throws at the 7:13 mark, but the Panthers regained the lead moments later with two free throws by Lonnie Hayes.  It came during a stretch where KWC outscored the Miners 15-11 over a stretch of nearly five minutes without making a shot from the field.

The Panthers would build their lead to 10 by halftime and pushed it to 14 early in the second half before S&T started cutting into the lead.  The Miners used a 9-2 run, capped by a lay-in by Aaron Emmanuel (Brampton, Ont./LaLumiere School), to trim the margin to seven at 58-51. 

Kentucky Wesleyan would again extend its lead to 15, only to see the Miners reduce it to nine when Ellis hit a pair of free throws with 5:15 remaining.    S&T would get to within eight on a three-pointer by Nusrath Khan (Morton Grove, Ill./Maine East) with 1:54 to play, but that would end up being as close as it would get down the stretch.

Ellis tied his career high with 20 points and Zuikov posted a career-high 18, all coming on six three-point baskets.  Zuikov was named to the all-tournament team along with Bryce Foster (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central), who also among five in double figures with 14.

Mudiaga Eruteya (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame) finished with 15 points and Khan with 11 as the Miners shot 48.1 percent from the field and hit 11 three-pointers in the contest.

Ken-Jah Bosley, named as the most valuable player in the tournament, scored a game-high 25 for the Panthers and Rico Ferguson added 24.

The Miners open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday with a matchup against defending NCAA Division II champion Drury in Springfield, Mo.  Game time for the game between the Miners and fourth-ranked Panthers is 7:45 p.m.