Men's basketball comes alive in second half to win

Men's basketball comes alive in second half to win

GREENVILLE, Ill. - The men's basketball team set up a showdown on Saturday with Webster for the SLIAC regular season championship as they defeated Westminster 124-107 for their 17th win of the season.

In their final regular season game at home, the Panthers took a moment before the game to honor senior Johari Dix for setting the new SLIAC record in assists.  He will later be presented with a commemorative basketball to note the accomplishment.

In four seasons wearing the Panther uniform, Dix has collected 493 assists, and he is within striking distance of setting Greenville University's all-time career record.  Brian Patton, a class of 1988 graduate and current Greenville University head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach, had over 500 assists from 1984-88.

On the court, the Panthers trailed 61-58 after the first half, but they turned up the intensity to outpace Westminster 66-46 in the second half.

Kieshaun Young-Jones was dynamite on offense, scoring a team-high 25 points on a perfect 8-of-8 night from the field and a 7-for-7 night behind the three-point line.

Dix finished second with 18 points, and he had a double-double by adding 10 assists.  Eric Williams also posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Westminster turned the ball over 27 times, and Greenville collected 15 steals.  Dix and Swade Edwards each had three steals.

The Panthers (17-7, 14-3 SLIAC) tip off at Webster at 3 p.m. Saturday.