WKU Basketball: Hilltoppers Escape Gardner-Webb 86–84
On the first Thursday night game in Diddle Arena, the Tops were getting into a groove of three straight home dates to open up the…
On the first Thursday night game in Diddle Arena, the Tops were getting into a groove of three straight home dates to open up the 2020–2021 season. The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs from the Big South Conference traveled to Bowling Green for their first game of the year.
The Tops won the opening tip and also scored the first bucket of the game, courtesy of a three-pointer from Carson Williams. However, throughout the first half, it would soon be the only made triple against the Bulldogs. This caused the Tops to fall behind, giving the early lead to Gardner-Webb with 14:46 left in the first half.
After leading the Tops 8–4 through the first media timeout, coach Rick Stansbury went to the bench for answers. Luke Frampton scored nine points in his significant minutes in relief of the starters. Also, Charles Bassey returned to his familiar form early by taking advantage inside of the paint. He Gardner Webb was still moving along by going on offensive spurts to drive their biggest lead to five as they led 27–22 past the halfway mark.
In the closing minutes of the first half, the Tops gained their second life and took back the lead, 29–27. However, that was short-lived as Gardner-Webb came back for the halftime lead 43–40. Bassey was the leading scorer and rebounder as he was halfway to another career double-double game.
In the second half, things started to go right for the Hilltoppers. Through the first media timeout of the half, the Tops & Bulldogs were tied at 50. The Tops biggest lead in the half was a ten-point difference of 65–55.
This was also thwarted by another 8–0 run by Gardner-Webb. Luckily, Josh Anderson kept the flow of the game in check with his high flying abilities:
In the last five minutes of the game, the Tops regained composure and took back the lead, 75–73. Their lead continued until the last second shot attempt by Gardner-Webb. After a missed game-winning three-pointer from the Bulldogs, the Tops escaped a home loss by the final score of 86–84.
Notes from the game:
We’re finally able to see Charles Bassey have the best start to his career on The Hill. He achieved his season-high performance with 28 points. Tonight marked his fourth game with a double-double. His strong play as a big man will improve as well as his draft stock for the rest of the season.
Josh Anderson played a good game tonight as he was able to score 16 points, taking initiative on being an important piece for the Hilltoppers.
Luke Frampton stepped up at the right time. He was able to score 15 points from the bench. It would be safe to say that his minutes will improve over time.
Despite the win, the offensive production for tonight’s game was frustrating. The Tops scored under 50 percent to a Gardner-Webb team that had the better field goal percentage. The inconsistency of three-point shooting almost cost us the game. On a lighter note, the Tops won the turnover battle with only 4 bad possessions.
The Tops improve to 4–2 as they scrapped for a hard-fought win against a spunky Gardner-Webb team. They’ll continue their non-conference schedule as they host Rhode Island (3–3) on Sunday at 11 am central time (CBS Sports Network).
Here are the final stats from tonight’s victory at Diddle:
