COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Dominican Panthers men's basketball team jumped back into the swing of things on Thursday (Feb. 1) as they played for the first time in two weeks at Alumni Hall. 

In a week where the Panthers would be seeing a lot of purple, Ohio Dominican was defeated by the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers 96-56. 
 
BOX SCORE NOTES

• Luke Ruth (Grove City, Ohio) led all scorers with 20 points in the game, making eight-of-14 field goal attempts on the night. Ruth made one three pointer and was three-of-five at the free throw line. The freshman added four rebounds, four assists and one block in action. 12 of his 20 points came in the first half of the contest. 
• Sean McKitrick (Dayton, Ohio) finished with ten points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals for his 12th straight game of at least ten points. 
• Parker Swartz (Grand Rapids, Michigan) got his fourth game in double figures with 12 points on Thursday. He had nine points from three pointers alone. 
• Nate Webb (Lafayette, Indiana) added seven points, three rebounds and a trio of dimes. 
• Christian Lee (Birmingham, Alabama) scored five points off the bench with his first career block. 
• Eli Meyer (Seymour, Indiana) made his first start and set career-highs with two points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. 
• Caleb Maurer (Fort Loramie, Ohio) debuted for the Panthers with two rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes of action. 
• Ohio Dominican shot 38.6% (22-57) overall in the game, 21.9% (7-32) from deep and 50.0% (5-10) at the free throw line.
• The Panthers blocked five shots, tying a season-best for the team (last done vs. Wilberforce on November 22, 2023).

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kentucky Wesleyan opened the game with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes before a Swartz layup and McKitrick three pointer got the game back to 8-7 with 16:22 left in the first half. 
• The visitors quickly regained a larger lead and pulled ahead throughout the rest of the first half. The Panthers in purple led 49-22 at halftime. 
• KWC outscored ODU 47-34 in the second half to win 96-56. 
  • Swartz led the (Ohio Dominican) Panthers with ten points in the second half.

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican will host the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans on Saturday (Feb. 3) at 3:00 PM inside of Alumni Hall.