WKU Basketball: Tops Fall to Tech in Heartbreaker, 74-73
McKnight & Justice tallied for over 40 points as the Tops are shocked with 1st CUSA loss in Ruston, Louisiana.
Happy New Year Hilltopper Nation! Bowling Green’s finest opened up Conference USA play on the road in Ruston as they’ve played Louisiana Tech on Saturday afternoon. In years past, the Thomas Assembly Center was unkind to road teams, including WKU. This was also the first game that the Tops played after Thursday’s cancellation to Southern Miss and following the December 22nd loss at Kentucky.
The opening tipoff was won by the Bulldogs & they took advantage of an early three pointer. Quickly, WKU was able to come back with score five points, all by Camron Justice. The spurt turned into a 12-5 run in favor of Western with 11:56 left in the first half.
WKU’s lead continued as the offensive rout was bouyed by a Jamarion Sharp dunk. the play was a put-back offensive rebound.
The most daring feat up to this point of the first half was that WKU did not shoot any free throws until the 5:38 mark. The Tops maintained a 25-15 lead as the half started to wind down.
In the closing seconds of the first half, LA Tech started to trim WKU’s largest lead away from eleven points with a 28-17 score at the 3:31 mark of the first half. At halftime, WKU was leading the Bulldogs 31-21. Louisiana Tech struggled offensively as they’ve shot 18% from the field.
In the second half, the Tops continued to push the lead further. After allowing LA Tech to open the period with four straight points, the offense started to gain some traction. Through the first media timeout of the half, the Tops were now leading 46-30.
Dayvion McKnight was beginning to have really nice game in terms of scoring. He and Camron Justice entered double digit point totals as time went on. Unfortunately, the Tops started to cool down. LA Tech’s offensive woes changed into success as they were able to cut the lead down to 49-42 with 12:01 left in the game. Thankfully, the Tops were able to pull ahead through back to back triples from Justice.
For the rest of the afternoon, the Bulldogs found ways to comeback but the Tops kept the defensive pressure going for only a little bit. The lead was cut to 72-69 with less than 40 seconds to go following a efficient Bulldogs run to cut the deficit. After missing two free throws, the Bulldogs were able to tie the game at 72 following a three pointer from Cobe Williams. With 14.3 seconds remaining, the Tops were fouled, sending Justice to the free throw line. Sadly, one attempt was made and in the ensuing possession, Kenneth Lofton Jr. was fouled. He managed to hit both free throws.
After a seventeen point comeback, the Bulldogs held on to defeat WKU 74-73, handing the Tops their first CUSA loss of the season.
This one is a stinger considering how well we’ve played in the first half. The second half was a Jekyll & Hyde effect as the Tops slowed down their defensive efforts and found themselves in some foul trouble.
The Hilltoppers are now 8-6 on the season, anticipating a return back to Diddle Arena next Saturday to take on Florida International. The game is set to tip off at 2pm with the game being broadcasted on ESPN Plus.
Here are the final stats from today’s loss in Ruston:
