WKU Basketball: Hilltoppers Lose Back & Forth Thriller to BGSU 77–75
In a game of runs, WKU went cold during the last five minutes of the game as Bowling Green star Justin Turner hit a runner with 3 seconds…
In a game of runs, WKU went cold during the last five minutes of the game as Bowling Green star Justin Turner hit a runner with 3 seconds left to give WKU its first loss of the season at the Paradise Jam.
WKU fell behind 12–6 in the first five minutes as the Falcons hit two three-pointers. The Hilltoppers would respond with a 6-0 run capped out on a Josh Anderson layup to tie it up at 12 with 13:19 remaining.
The Falcons would respond by hitting three straight three-pointers as they went on an 11–0 run over the next three minutes causing Rick Stansbury to call a timeout. The Falcons would hit another three extending the lead out to 14 before Charles Bassey would stop the bleeding at the free-throw line.
WKU would tighten up defensively and go on a 10–1 run of their own over the next two minutes with an alley-oop from Hollingsworth to Bassey cutting the lead to 27–22 with 7:20 remaining as the Falcons called a time out. Hollingworth would keep that momentum going drawing an and one on a layup and cutting the Bowling Green lead to two at the 7-minute mark.
WKU would regain the lead as a Charles Bassey offensive rebound would be kicked out to Camron Justice for a three and making the run 17–1 and giving WKU a 29-27 lead with 5:46 remaining. Bassey (13 first-half points) would hit his third three of the season finishing the run at 20–1 before BGSU’s Marlon Sierra would make a layup to cut the lead to three with 4:13 remaining.
WKU would extend their lead to as much as seven over the last 4 minutes of the half but Falcon star Justin Turner would put his team on the back scoring six points including a buzzer-beating jumper to go on a 8–2 run over the final 1:52 as WKU took a 40–39 lead to the locker room.
Bowling Green came out of the locker room white hot going on a 10–4 run to lead by as many as five points in the opening three minutes. WKU would respond with yet another run of their own 11–2 run to take a 55–51 lead with 14:27 remaining.
That lead would balloon to as much as 7 before the Falcons would respond again taking the lead back (64–63) on a Justin Turner layup and free throw with 9:57 remaining. Carson Williams would instantly answer to retake the lead for WKU. Jared Savage would hit a reverse dunk to extend WKU’s lead to five at the under eight-minute time out.
Over the next four minutes, WKU’s lead would hover around 7 points but the Tops couldn’t break through that point ceiling (only scoring once over the last five minutes) as BGSU’s Dylan Frye would drain a three to keep it within four at the under four-minute time out.
The Falcons would then cut the lead down to two on a Caleb Fields jumper with three minutes. That margin would stay at two for over two more minutes as the defenses locked in and the shooting went cold. Taveion Hollingsworth would extend WKU’s lead to three as he hit one free throw at the 41-second mark.
The Falcons would hoist up multiple shots on the next possession missing three shots but gaining key offensive rebounds as Fields would cut the lead to 75–74 with twelve seconds remaining.
The Falcons would press on the ensuing possession as WKU would run off six seconds before Josh Anderson would be fouled and sent to the line to attempt a 1 and 1 that he missed. Justin Turner would then hit a transition runner with 3 seconds remaining to take a 1 point lead. Camron Justice would travel on the ensuing buzzer-beater attempt giving BGSU 0.6 seconds left and WKU would lose a heartbreaker 77–75 moving them to 4–1 on the season and the losers bracket of the Paradise Jam.
Here are some thoughts on tonight’s missed opportunity:
WKU got outrebounded 41–36 including giving multiple offensive rebounds in the last five minutes. That was a killer in such a tight game
WKU actually did a decent job with turnovers only committing an acceptable 13 on the day. While not perfect it wasn’t the usual killer that it has been in the past. Bowling Green also committed 13 turnovers so it was a basic wash today.
WKU played typical Stansbury ball gaining 18 more free Throws attempts than Bowling Green (28–10). Unfortunately, WKU only shot 60% from the foul stripe (17–28) losing a golden opportunity to win the game at the line (especially at the end)
WKU’s three-point defense was suspect as the Falcons made 10 of 21 threes. This basically erased WKU’s made free throw advantage.
Stansbury only played 8 players today with 6 playing major minutes (Rawls and Horton played sparingly). With the team as deep as we think it is this is inexcusable.
WKU’s lack of go-to scorer down the stretch was apparent. As talented as this team is, we still don’t know who the alpha is. You knew the ball was going to Turner in the clutch and he made WKU pay at the end. It’s been a while since the Hilltoppers had a go-to guy like that.
Charles Bassey had a solid game (19 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks) but the team still had trouble feeding him at the end of the game. Yet another dimension that was lost that would have put WKU over the top.
Taveion Hollingsworth played well for 3/4 of the game (19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) but his usual lead guard flaws showed as he couldn’t keep the offense going during the last five minutes.
Josh Anderson will be remembered for his missed free throws but he did a solid job as a role player today gaining 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal despite only scoring 4 points. It’s good to see him perform when he’s not getting heavy minutes.
Camron Justice had an awful shooting day (1–12) which was by far his worst day of the season. Stansbury needs to recognize when it’s not someone's day and bench them. Leaning on ineffective players shouldn’t happen with this team's depth.
Jaren Savage was rock solid (5–7 shooting) but Stansbury decided to trust Justice over him. Stansbury should always play the hot hand between those two.
Carson Williams was his solid self offensively (14 points) but he wasn’t nearly as good on the glass only gaining 5 rebounds on the day
Flo Hoops was simply awful in the first half. The picture was beyond blurry and nearly impossible to keep track of the game. They fixed their issues in the second half but it’s simply inexcusable for a broadcast that costs $30 per month to be so bad. Hopefully, WKU can avoid tournaments on this format in the future (like they have since 2017 football opener against EKU)
While there is no shame in losing to a solid team like Bowling Green (101 in Kenpom and probably rising), the loss kills WKU’s chances at gaining resume-building wins the rest of the tournament. The Hilltoppers now must take care of business against sub 150 teams or risk ending the season with a resume killing loss. Illinois State, Fordham, and Valparaiso all don’t do anything for WKU’s resume. Missing chances at Cincinnati and Nevada (along with a solid Bowling Green win) already make this tournament a giant missed opportunity.
WKU returns to action tomorrow against Illinois State (2–2) at 4 PM Central on FloHoops. The rest of the tournament games are must-wins so that WKU can avoid a costly resume building loss. Hopefully, the Hilltoppers can learn from their mistakes today and rebound quickly tomorrow.
Here are your final statistics from tonight’s disappointing loss:
