WKU Basketball: Tops Fall to LA Tech, 63–58
Decked out in the alternate black uniforms, the Hilltoppers concluded the series finale against Louisiana Tech. After scraping by in last…
Decked out in the alternate black uniforms, the Hilltoppers concluded the series finale against Louisiana Tech. After scraping by in last night’s win, the Tops looked to improve as they’re looking to sweep the Bulldogs. This took place at E.A. Diddle Arena.
As the first half opened, the Tops went ahead on a 4–0 run. However, this was quickly stifled as the Bulldogs came back swinging, scoring five unanswered points. Through the first timeout at 14:29, LA Tech had the 8–6 lead. In the last three minutes, the Bulldogs doused the Tops on a 14–0 run. This was the result of Charles Bassey going to the bench for a breather.
Halfway through the first half, LA was enjoying a 20–6 lead. The turnover problems continued as the deficit grew larger for the Tops. For the rest of the first half, LA Tech kept the foot on the gas. Their biggest lead was during a 32–16 score. The Tops slowly came back to shorten the deficit to 38–24 at halftime. Bassey was the leading scorer with 8 points & 5 rebounds.
Starting in the second half, the Tops have managed to create a comeback opportunity. The lead was trimmed to 42–36 at the 15:23 mark. After having successful defensive stops, WKU made three triples to cut the lead down to 46–42. WKU kept trailing the Bulldogs but they have managed to stay as close as possible for a one-possession sequence. As 6:05 was still on the clock for the second half, the Tops weren't further behind on their goal.
Going into the three-minute mark, the game was within one possession as the Bulldogs lead 59–56. At the final 90 seconds of the game, the Tops were behind one point at 59–58. WKU shoots a missed three that ended up being a three-point play for Bulldogs. As the last seconds went on, the Tops had lost the back half of the doubleheader. The final score was Louisiana Tech 63, Western Kentucky, 58.
Notes from the game:
The Tops suffered greatly after Charles Bassey was taken out of the age in the first half. The Bulldogs took advantage of an obvious weakness for the Tops. Nonetheless, Bassey did pick up his eight double-double game of the season.
Luke Frampton was cold on his three-point shooting to start but in the second half, it picked up. He hit some triples to keep Western in the game.
All night, WKU had shot 32.5 percent from the field. This was bound to bite us sooner or later. Not a good shooting night overall for the Tops.
The defense outrebounded the Bulldogs by a margin of 34–31. The potential of making second changes points on offense would've helped tremendously.
The CUSA doubleheaders are proving the fact that this is no easy task for any basketball team. The Tops’ effort tonight can only give us more hope in playing well for the rest of the season.
The Hilltoppers are now at 9–4, including a 2–2 conference record. They will be facing Marshall in this year’s installment of the Moonshine Throwdown on Friday, January 15th. The game tips off at 6 pm central time at Diddle Arena.
Here are the stats from tonight’s loss in Diddle Arena:
