OWENSBORO, Ky. – Twenty-six and counting. That’s the win streak NCAA DII seventh-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan will carry into the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional starting in a week.
 
With help from the loyal home crowd, the Panthers roared to life and secured their second consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship title on Saturday in the Sportscenter.
 
No. 1 seed KWC held off a strong postseason run made by No. 2 Alderson Broaddus with 91-63 being the final score. The Panthesrs advanced into the title game after eliminating No. 4 seed Malone on Friday in the semifinals.
 
The celebration was officially on after the final buzzer as players gathered in front of the scorers table and danced in unison. The traditional net-cutting ceremony followed along with the official trophy presentation.
 
The Panthers (28-2 overall), currently ranked fifth in the region, now turn their attention to the NCAA DII Championship Selection Show airing tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m. EST. The Selection Show can be viewed by clicking here.
 
KWC enhanced its postseason stock for the committee and after being a No. 8 seed at Wisconsin-Parkside in last year’s regional, this year’s group is ready prove itself on the national stage at a regional site to be determined.
 
Senior guard Ken-Jah Bosley, the only player in G-MAC history to score 2,000 career points, canned eight three-point field goals for a game-high 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
 
Bosley took over the game single-handedly with his team training 33-29 late in the first half. He scored the Panthers’ final 15 points before halftime -- all on five consecutive long-range shots. But he also had the best moment that you couldn't script when he exchanged game shorts with a teammate in the open to stay on the floor (his had blood) -- drawing a hearty round of applause from the fans. 
 
AB and KWC exchanged three-pointers to open the second half, but a 10-0 run in less than three minutes gave the Panthers their first double-digit lead of the game.
 
It was at that junction when the Panthers really started to impose their will in the paint while scoring on a variety of close range shots courtesy of Michael Vigilance, Jordan Jacks and Malek Harris.
 
Sam Williams’ layup with 8:29 left swelled the lead to 20 and Bosley made a tough runner off glass, his only two-point field goal, to maintain the same margin shortly after.
 
Williams made 6-of-9 from the field to finish with 14 points while Jacks, fresh off a 10-for-13 FG effort against Malone, added 11 to go with eight rebounds. KWC would finish the game at a sizzling 60 percent on FG tries, including 10-of-22 from deep.
 
The Battlers played their way for a chance at the title by beating No. 3 seed Davis & Elkins on Friday in the semifinals. AB’s G-MAC Freshman of the Year, first-team all-conference and all-freshman team guard Malik Bocook had 15 points and six rebounds.
 
AB had four in double figures while Exzavier Cooper netted 11, Jordan Haywood scored 12 and Sam Sanders chipped in 10. The Battlers finished their 2016-17 season with a 16-14 overall record as conference tourney runner-up.