PHILIPPI, W.V. – Top-seeded Alderson Broaddus and second-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan will meet for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship title after advancing through semifinal contests on Saturday.
The tourney host Battlers fended off upset-minded No. 5 Trevecca Nazarene while the Panthers were able to deliver career win No. 500 for their coach Happy Osborne against No. 6 Central State.
The G-MAC Men’s Basketball Championship title game will tip at 2 p.m. EST from Rex Pyles Arena.
No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan 82, No. 6 Central State 65
It turned out to be a tale of two halves for the Panthers, who found their rhythm with a dominant second half on the strength of a 30-10 run.
Central State ended the first half on a 7-0 run, but Kentucky Wesleyan opened the final period on a 10-2 run. The Panthers were saddled with nine team fouls but rode the hot hand of floor general Ken-Jah Bosley.
Bosley canned four three-point buckets in the second half and emotionally charged his team with a steal on an inbounds play that led to a three-point play.
KWC’s C.J. Blackwell was another deadly option on the floor after scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
The Panthers shot over 58 percent from the field in the second half while limiting the Marauders to just six field goals in the final 20 minutes.
Masceo Harmon, who concluded his decorated career with 20 points, led Central State. He was joined in double figures by Tre Edwards (11) and Ra’chaun Thompson (10).
Central State led by six points at halftime after shooting 13-of-25. KWC’s largest lead was 20 with under three minutes to play and this matchup featured seven ties and nine lead changes.
No. 1 Alderson Broaddus 68, No. 5 Trevecca Nazarene 63
Richard Lemon scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and top-seeded Alderson Broaddus stood tall on its home court in Saturday’s semifinal nightcap.
Lemon was part of a bruising interior front line for AB, who played the final four minutes without defensive enforcer Tobias Dowdell who fouled out. Lemon picked up the slack and then some, absorbing contact and muscling his way through the pain for an efficient night.
The Battlers busted the game open early on with a 10-0 run, including a crowd-pleasing slam off the opening tip.
But just like last night against Cedarville, Trevecca Nazarene caught fire from deep in a hurry as Tyrell Corlew ripped the cords from deep on four shots. All-conference guard Byron Sanford had another big first half and put the Trojans back in contention up two at the half.
After a 47-47 tie ensued, the Battlers would go on an 8-0 run as AB’s Paul Williamson began heating up. Williamson nailed a trey from the corner for a five-point cushion and would sink three more three balls on the night.
Lemon’s layup with just under five minutes left in regulation was AB’s first double-digit lead of the night. TNU cut the deficit to four, but Ali Bilal calmly knocked down clinching free throws inside the final minute.
Sanford scored 21 to match Lemon for the high scorer while Corlew finished with 15. Thylas Perkins netted 11 for AB while Dowdell had 10.