LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A late comeback bid fell just short for fourth-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan to officially end its postseason run in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Championship Midwest Regional on Saturday night.
The Panthers (28-3) were eliminated from the regional bracket by fifth-seeded Quincy of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, 78-75.
Quincy will face top seed and region host Bellarmine Sunday evening in Knights Hall.
Senior guard Ken-Jah Bosley nearly willed his team into overtime with a series of improbable shots in the final moments that had the Panthers in striking distance, but his last-second heave with 1.2 ticks on the clock was offline.
But prior to the final inbounds play, Bosley had a shot fake from the corner as two Hawks defenders flew by. Contact was initiated but no foul was whistled and it was deemed last touched by Quincy as the ball caromed out of bounds.
Bosley scored all of his 16 points in the second half, including a trio of three-pointers from well beyond the line. The last bucket of his illustrious career came with 13 seconds left and made it a two-point game.
Kentucky Wesleyan just had a tough time getting tracked from the opening tip, laboring to just five points on the offensive end of the floor with nearly 12 minutes elapsed in the first half. The Hawks (25-6) had established a 21-5 lead by that point and carried a double-digit lead in the locker room at halftime.
Foul trouble mounted and was problematic for both teams in the second half. Both KWC and Quincy were in the bonus with over 12 minutes left in regulation. The Hawks had two huge plays down the stretch that included a tough three with the shot clock expiring and a dunk in transition by Von Washington III plus the foul inside the final 90 seconds.
The Panthers were the best free-throw shooting team in the Great Midwest Athletic Conferene this season but left a handful of points at the foul stripe - making 16-of-28.
Another KWC senior, Jordan Jacks, closed out his career with a team-high 17 points. Quincy was led by 18 points each from Marcus Hinton and Joseph Tagarelli.
Kentucky Wesleyan had a 26-game win streak come to an end. The No. 5 nationally-ranked Panthers were back-to-back NCAA Tournament qualifiers and back-to-back G-MAC regular-season and tournament champs in 2016-17.
Incoming G-MAC member Findlay, the No. 6 seed in the region, toppled No. 3 Southern Indiana in opening-round action. The Oilers were one of four teams to advance yesterday and will face No. 2 Ferris State in second-round play.
Bellarmine pulled away from No. 8 Wisconsin-Parkside in the second half while Ferris State bounced No. 7 Truman State.