OWENSBORO, KY - The offense for the thirteenth ranked Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers would prove to be too much for the Tigers of Salem International University on Monday afternoon (Feb. 20) in NCAA Division II men's basketball action. The Panthers scored 65 first-half points en route to a 134-64 victory against the Tigers.

Junior Jordan Gaither scored a season-high 13 points to pace the Tigers offensively, while junior Jordan Robinson added 12 points for SIU. Junior Ignacio Rodriguez (11 points) and junior Saquan Epps (10 points) round-out the double-digit scorers for the Tigers.

SIU will play its final game of 2016-17 at home on Wednesday night (Feb. 22) at 7 p.m. as the Tigers welcome in Ohio Valley University. Prior to the start of the game, SIU will honor a pair of seniors who will be playing their final game in a Tigers uniform. Victor Blakey and Dominique Robinson will suit-up for their final game at the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium and look to avenge a loss to OVU a week ago.

The Tigers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders against the Panthers, building an early lead after back-to-back treys were hit by Gaither and Rodriguez. SIU led for the opening 3:03 of the contest before the Panthers would go on a run to seize the lead and momentum. After a Sam Williams layup with 16:01 left in the opening stanza knotted the score 6-6, the Panthers would go on a 12-0 run to open up an 18-6 lead.

Brandon Jacks would stretch the Panthers' lead to 20 (31-11) with 9:40 left to play after hitting a layup in the paint. With 5:20 remaining in the half, freshman Jarius Farrow drained a three-ball for the Tigers to cut the deficit to 42-21. Unfortunately for the Tigers, that would be their last score of the half until a layup by Epps with 51 ticks remaining. During that stretch, KWC would score 20 unanswered points and build its lead to 62-21. SIU missed a total of eight shots during the scoreless stretch.

Charles Foster hit a last-second three to the Panthers a 65-23 lead after 20 minutes of play. Ken-Jah Bosley paced the Panthers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor along with a 4-for-6 effort from downtown.

SIU would pick up the scoring pace in the second-half against KWC going 15-of-37 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. The Panthers would somehow find a way to hit the same number of shots (25) in the second-half against the Tigers. Four of five starters for the Panthers would eventually score at least 14 points in the contest.

Foster finished the contest with 14 points for KWC, shooting 8-of-16 from the floor while Williams and Jacks both added 17 points for the Panthers. Jacks recorded a double-double for the Panthers with 10 rebounds and flirted with a triple-double as he finished with seven assists and six steals. Foster also tallied seven assists for KWC. Bolsey finished with a game-high 28 points for the Panthers, while Hatton added 16 points. Michael Vigilance recorded a double-double for the Panthers off of the bench, scoring 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Shaakir Lindsey tallied a game-high eight assists for KWC.

The Panthers out-rebounded SIU 59-35 and forced the Tigers into 21 turnovers while only committing 12 miscues. KWC made the most of Tiger turnovers, scoring 34 points and adding 17 fast-break points. KWC shot 60.2 percent from the floor, 58.3 percent from downtown, and 64.5 percent at the free-throw line while SIU shot 32 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from downtown, and 72.7 percent at the free-throw line.