COLUMBUS, Ohio - For the first time in the 2023-24 season, the Ohio Dominican Panthers men's basketball team played on the floor at Alumni Hall as a part of the opening weekend crossover with the Lewis Flyers, McKendree Bearcats and the Tiffin Dragons.
The Panthers fell 80-75 to Lewis on Friday (Nov. 10) before closing the weekend with a 78-71 loss to McKendree on Saturday (Nov. 11) afternoon.
GAME ONE (L, 80-75 vs. Lewis)
BOX SCORE NOTES
- JeJuan Weatherspoon (Columbus, Ohio) led the Panthers with 23 points in his debut for ODU. The senior transfer was six-of-15 from the floor with an 11-of-12 mark at the free throw line,. He added five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
- 17 of his points came in the second half with nine free throws.
- Zac Kimball (Sydney, Australia) tallied 13 points in his Panthers debut with two threes, five rebounds and three assists.
- Caleb Brooks (Florence, Kentucky) came off the bench with ten points and three rebounds. The freshman drilled two threes and a pair of free throws.
- Freshmen Sean McKitrick (Dayton, Ohio) and Luke Ruth (Grove City, Ohio) each scored eight points in their debuts. McKitrick was tied for the team lead with two three pointers while Ruth had five rebounds, a team-high six assists and a steal.
- Ohio Dominican shot 47.2% for the day, making 25-of-53 shots overall. They outshot the Flyers as the opponent shot 40.4% (23-57).
- ODU had a 65.2% field goal percentage in the second half and were seven-of-nine from deep (77.8%).
- The Panthers made ten threes overall, tying the Flyers from beyond the three-point line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The teams started slow in the early going with Lewis holding a small lead throughout the first ten minutes of the half. Lewis led by five points (15-10) with 12:30 left as ODU went on an 18-9 run to end the first half with a 28-24 lead. The Panthers led by as many as seven in the final two minutes of the period.
- Weatherspoon scored the first eight points of the second half as ODU went on an 11-4 run over four minutes to gain a 39-28 lead.
- Kayin Derden (Columbus, Ohio) pushed the Panthers to a 14-point lead (46-32) with a jumper at the 13:29 mark, the largest lead of the contest.
- After Lewis got within ten points (55-45) by the ten minute mark, the Flyers tied the game three times at 59-59, 61-61 and 64-64 as the game entered the final four minutes.
- Lewis took the lead with 2:51 left and pulled out a win with a late 7-0 run. Ohio Dominican fell 80-75.
GAME TWO (L, 78-71 vs. McKendree)
BOX SCORE NOTES
- JeJuan Weatherspoon (Columbus, Ohio) followed up his debut with an another dominant performance. He scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his fourth career double-double. He dished out a career-best five assists. Like the first game, Weatherspoon had 13 second half points.
- Caleb Brooks (Florence, Kentucky) was one of two players with 11 points as he made two triples along with four rebounds.
- Sean McKitrick (Dayton, Ohio) scored 11 points like his classmate in their second contest in Black and Gold. He also made two triples and corralled three boards.
- Luke Ruth (Grove City, Ohio) had eight points in 36 minutes with four rebounds and a steal.
- Nate Webb (Lafayette, Indiana) added ten points on four-of-five shooting with two threes made.
- Ohio Dominican had a 41.5% field goal clip, going 27-of-65. ODU ended with nine threes, another tie with the opposition.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ohio Dominican got threes from five different players in the opening eight minutes as ODU pushed an early 19-7 lead into the scorebook.
- McKendree got back into the game with a 12-2 run to get within two points (21-19) with 7:37 left in the first half.
- Weatherspoon got a second chance putback to add to ODU's lead and put them up 26-19.
- The Bearcats closed the last 3:33 with an 11-3 run to lead 30-29 at halftime.
- After halftime, the Panthers quickly gained the lead back and led by as many as six (52-46) after a Weatherspoon three-point play.
- McKendree got the lead back with 9:23 at 59-56 with a three and held off the Panthers over the final nine minutes.
