WKU Basketball: Tops Fall Short to Charlotte in OT, 75–71
After squeaking by the Charlotte 49ers on New Years Day, the WKU Hilltoppers played them again in a modified back-to-back CUSA sequence…
After squeaking by the Charlotte 49ers on New Years Day, the WKU Hilltoppers played them again in a modified back-to-back CUSA sequence. The Tops were looking to stay undefeated in conference play at 2–0.
After the tipoff began, the Tops quickly went to work. The game opened with a Josh Anderson block that turned into an opening score. The first make was courtesy of Tavieon Hollingsworth. Throughout the first half, the Tops were in control but it did not last long. The 49ers took a chance & came back early, taking advantage of a 10–6 run with 13:42 in the first half. The 49ers' defense momentarily created some struggle for WKU to score any points.
Luke Frampton developed the hot hand as he hit back to back three-pointers to tie the game at 16. After passing the halfway mark of the first half, the Tops came out in front 21–18 through the media timeout. After a few back & forth possessions, the Tops turned to their interior offense to liven things up. Josh Anderson took flight as he had the answer to stop a 5–0 run from Charlotte.
Charlotte pulled back ahead with adjoining free throws. The first half ended with a turnover that resulted in an easy layup for the 49ers. At the half, WKU was trailing 36–30.
The second half started with Charlotte leading 36–34. WKU’s offense still struggled with keeping turnovers away. The 49ers started pulling in front with a five-point lead after scoring off of the bad possessions from Western. This short lead grew into a bigger problem as Charlotte extended the lead to nine points. At the WKU timeout, the Tops trailed in their biggest deficit of the game, 46–37. The Tops cut the deficit into a three-point lead at 46–43 near the halfway mark. They also continued with an 8–0 run, trimming the deficit to 46–45.
Jordan Rawls was able to score a triple to take back the lead 52–51, with 7:26 remaining. WKU kept the 62–55 lead intact through the four-minute mark, driving Charlotte to a timeout. The 49ers weren't done as they trimmed the WKU lead to within two points late in the second half. Hollingsworth was called for a charge in the next position, creating a chance for Charlotte to tie the game at 64. At the end of regulation, Charlotte missed on a last-second three-point attempt.
Going into overtime, the Tops & 49ers remained tied. Dayvion McKnight was fouled and hit one free throw to take the lead. The 49ers came back to create a 70–67 lead with 1:40 left in the game. McKnight scored a basket to make the game 70–69 in favor of Charlotte. The 49ers drew a fol and went to the charity stripe, extending the lead to three points. The Tops were forced into another turnover, changing the intensity of the last few seconds. The Tops went on to get the loss with a final overtime score of 75–71.
Notes from the game:
This may be a broken record but turnovers are still a major concern. Even with losing a game like this, it’s very unacceptable to allow a lot of misfortune on offense.
Tavieon Hollingsworth stepped up after having a quiet first half. 19 of his 21 points came in the second half before regulation ended.
Josh Anderson fouled out after playing a productive game of scoring 10 points. This may have resulted in having shorter depth in the late moments of the game.
WKU was a perfect 18–18 at the free-throw line. Going into overtime, they did miss on the first attempt in the period.
The Conference USA schedule format will get only tougher as the season continues. As hard enough as it is to beat an opponent twice in a season, doing it on a nightly basis will be exhausting. This is where a strong depth and a gameplan will make a difference.
Tonight’s game could have been better in a lot of ways. This will serve as a lesson going forward as they have to quickly move on from the series split. making this the Tops' first conference loss. At an overall record of 8–3, they will travel back home to Diddle Arena with a two-game series against Louisiana Tech. The first game of that series will be Friday, January 8th at 7 pm central time.
Here are the final stats from Halton Arena:
