OWENSBORO, Ky. – The IU Southeast men's basketball team fell to NCAA Division II opponent Kentucky Wesleyan 73-62 on Wednesday.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead in the first half. IU Southeast cut the lead to five at 13-8, but a layup and a three extended their lead to 10 at 18-8. Kentucky Wesleyan led 25-12 at the halfway mark of the first half.
 
IU Southeast cut the lead to seven at 27-20 after a 5-0 run by Xavier Price, but a 9-0 run by Kentucky Wesleyan extended the Panther lead to 36-20. Kentucky Wesleyan led by as many as 19 in the first half as the Panthers took a 45-29 lead into halftime.
 
A quick 6-0 run by Kentucky Wesleyan to open the second half extended their lead to 51-29. The Panthers extended their lead to 24 at 59-35. IU Southeast chipped away at the lead, cutting their deficit to 19 at 63-44 with 8:51 remaining.
 
A three by Caleb Brown cut the Grenadier deficit to 63-47, but the Panthers responded with a three-point play to extend their lead back to 19 at 66-47.
 
Trailing 73-54, a 6-0 IU Southeast run brought the Grenadiers within 13 at 73-60. Eli Meyer hit a hook shot to make it an 11-point game, but IU Southeast ran out of time as Kentucky Wesleyan would go on to win 73-62.
 
"We played hard until the very end," IU Southeast head coach Wiley Brown said. "The good thing about this game is no injuries, and I saw some good things from Tevi and Richard that can help us during conference play, and Trent played well. If you look at the stats in every category, we competed. They made more free throws than we did. We have to make open shots! We will get back in the lab and go to work."
 
Lane Lauderbaugh continued his hot streak offensively, scoring 28 points on 13-20 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists. Xavier Price had seven points off the bench. Camden Pfeister had six points and a team-high four assists, and Caleb Brown added six points as well.
 
IU Southeast returns to action on Nov. 26 at Lindsey Wilson, who is receiving votes in the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.