All season long, the Kansas Wesleyan men’s basketball team relied on Mabee magic.

For the first time, the magic tank went empty.

Senior Terell Gandy’s three-point shot at the buzzer went halfway down and popped out, giving Kansas Wesleyan a 76-73 defeat to York on Saturday. It was the first home loss in conference play for the Coyotes.

The first half featured a back-and-forth affair. Wesleyan’s largest lead ended up being six when the Coyotes jumped ahead 12-6. York bounced back and used 7-1 spurt to put the Panthers up 32-26.

After cutting the halftime deficit down to one just before half, the Coyotes took control to open the second half. Junior Ithello Cross picked up back-to-back buckets, capping a 9-0 explosion to give the Coyotes a 53-43 advantage.

The Panthers clawed back before the lead altered eight more times. Gandy nailed his third triple of the game with 4:40 to play, followed by a giant three by freshman Darius Hammond. York answered with a bucket, trimming the margin to 71-70.

What happened next was a bit confusing. With the shot clock winding down, sophomore Zach Rammelt launched up a three from the right wing. York senior Mark Dean leaped up and appeared to touch the ball, but goaltending wasn’t called at the 3:44 mark in the game.

The Panthers took advantage of the momentum, getting a key stick from junior Chris Smith to increase the York lead to 74-71. KWU tried to force overtime, but fell a bit short.

Gandy paced the Coyotes (9-9, 7-5 KCAC) with 17 points. Hammond set a career-high in points with 15 off the bench while Rammelt tied a career-best with 10. York (10-9, 7-5) had four players with 12 points. The Panthers crashed the boards with 14 points off 14 rebounds.

Kansas Wesleyan hits the road next Wednesday. The Coyotes travel to face the Ottawa Braves with pregame coverage of the doubleheader beginning at 5:45 pm.

KANSAS WESLEYAN 79, YORK 45

KWU women’s basketball avoided the letdown game from the start.

The York Panthers battled back to a four-point game, but the Coyotes closed the opening stanza with an 11-0 explosion, handing Wesleyan a 25-10 advantage. KWU was ice cold in the second frame, yet the Coyotes outscored the Panthers despite making three field goals.

The 39-18 halftime cushion ballooned to 30 following the eruption of freshman Amanda Hill. The Rossville product nailed four of her five threes in third, giving her a career-high 19 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting from deep.

Junior Gabbie Miller tied a career-high with 15 points, making six of her seven shot attempts. Sophomore Haleigh Bradford had a solid stat line of eight points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Bradford’s active presence led the defensive charge of the Coyotes (11-9, 8-4), who forced 24 turnovers and scored 35 points off those miscues.

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