WKU Basketball: Tops Lose Dogfight At ODU 67–63
WKU Basketball started bonus pod play by traveling to conference leader Old Dominion, despite having a late three-point lead and ample…
WKU Basketball started bonus pod play by traveling to conference leader Old Dominion, despite having a late three-point lead and ample chances to snag a huge victory, the Tops floundered down the stretch losing 67–63.
Charles Bassey scored the first points of the game on a smooth jumper to give WKU a 2–0 lead but would start the game just 2–9 from the field as they trailed the Monarchs 7–5 at the first television timeout.
WKU would go on a 4–0 run before ODU would tie the game up at 9. The game would be played at the slow, methodical pace that Old Dominion is known for. Both teams would trade baskets and each team’s lead would vacillate between two and four points.
Old Dominion would start to assert themselves during the last eight minutes of the half. They forced 11 first-half turnovers and forced multiple scoring droughts as their physicality gave WKU fits as they led 21–17 with 3:18 left.
Tolu Smith would stop a four-minute scoring drought cutting ODU’s lead to two but the Monarchs would answer with a three. After a Lamonte Bearden layup, ODU would get the final shot of the half getting a last-second putback tip by Elbert Robinson to take a 26–21 lead into the locker room. The 21 points were a season-low total for the first half by the Tops.
WKU would come out of the locker room poised scoring the first four points of the half. An 8–3 run would help WKU tie it up at 29 on a Josh Anderson runner. WKU would finally take their first lead in a while on a Charles Bassey dunk to take a 35–34 advantage. ODU would immediately answer with a 6–0 run forcing a timeout at the 13-minute mark.
ODU’s lead would hover between three and six over the next few minutes. WKU would make a big shot but ODU would repeatedly respond with a tough shot or physical rebounds that led to putbacks.
The Tops wouldn’t go away though as Taveion Hollingsworth hit a tough mid-range jumper to tie it at 45. After a quick ODU score, Charles Bassey got an and one free throw to give WKU a 48–47 lead with 8:13 left. WKU couldn’t buy a critical stop when they gained momentum as Xavier Green would hit a clutch three-pointer for ODU to give them a 50–48 lead at the eight-minute timeout.
ODU would extend their lead to five points on a Stith three-pointer. Taveion Hollingworth would respond with a clutch three to cut that lead back to one around the five-minute mark. Lamonte Bearden would tie the game at 57 on a free throw as the dogfight continued. Both teams would trade one point leads as WKU clung to a 59–58 lead with 2:27 remaining.
Caver would hit two free throws to help ODU regain the lead. Josh Anderson would respond, drawing a foul of his own and making both free throws to regain a 61–60 lead with 2:09 left.
Lamonte Bearden would hit a layup falling down to give WKU a three-point lead but Green would respond with another three to tie the game with a minute left. WKU would then become a victim of a controversial turnover with 44 seconds left as a long review gave ODU the ball as Bassey’s shot attempt went out of bounds (it looked like he was fouled).
ODU would run the clock down to 16 seconds before Green would hit a two-pointer to give ODU the lead. WKU would come down the floor and feed Charles Bassey who drew a foul and two free throws to tie the game.
Bassey would miss the first and then try to miss the second, getting a lane violation in the process. ODU would quickly draw a foul with eight seconds left. Stith would hit two free throws to give ODU a four-point lead with 8 seconds left. Jake Ohmer would miss a last-second three and WKU would lose a dogfight 67–63. ODU ended the game on a 7–0 run.
Here are a few quick postgame thoughts from another close road loss
Turnovers were a huge factor in this one. On the game, the Tops committed 16 turnovers with 11 coming in the first half. I don’t think it was a coincidence that WKU played much better when they cut that number in half during the second half.
WKU’s defense played well enough to win, holding ODU to just 39.7% shooting on the day but they repeatedly couldn’t come up with key stops when the game was tied or close. Green’s two late field goals being prime examples of their lack of toughness when it mattered most.
ODU had seven more free throws attempts than WKU (19–12), that discrepancy was the biggest factor in ODU winning the game.
Taveion Hollingworth had a great bounce-back game. He was efficient (7–11 shooting) and played within himself. He finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. That will do on most nights. Let’s hope this is the start of a late-season surge for Hollingsworth.
Lamonte Bearden had another solid game as well 13 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals but his uncharacteristic four turnovers definitely contributed to the hole they dug in the first half.
For as good as Charles Bassey is (13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks), one area of his game that needs to improve is ball strength around the basket. His five turnovers today were devastating. He’s got to learn how to be strong with the basketball and avoid turnovers.
Moustapha Diagne was surprisingly the first player off the bench and played the most minutes off the bench regularly spelling Bassey. On the day, Diagne grabbed 5 rebounds and a steal, giving the Tops some great minutes.
Jared Savage had another day to forget, shooting just 2–6 and finishing with 5 points. He is the bellwether player for the Tops, when he has a good day, The Tops offense usually hums. He did get three steals on defense but has to be more of a factor if the Tops want to live up to their potential.
With Stith and Caver struggling early for ODU, Xavier Green (8.4 ppg) carried ODU offensively scoring 22 points. It is frustrating to see WKU regularly let someone go off against them (Jackson, Bryant, Elmore, Kinsey, etc.)After seeing an unheralded player do that for ODU, It would be nice if WKU had more role players step up to take pressure off our Bassey, Anderson, Hollingsworth, and Bearden.
After jacking up 27 threes against UAB, WKU wisely went back to their bread and butter of driving to the basket. On the day WKU attempted just 10 three-pointers (2/10) and dominated ODU in the paint. It’s good to see the team know when it’s not their day from the field and play within themselves.
Jeremiah Gambrell didn’t make the trip today. Apparently, his injury acted back up. It looks like he is a prime candidate for a redshirt this year.
With this result, WKU is now three games behind ODU in the standings and is effectively eliminated from the Conference USA regular-season championship. WKU must now focus on closing out these last three games and getting the first round bye in Frisco. For a team with so much talent and preseason hype to sit at 16–12 on the season is a major underachievement.
WKU continues bonus pod play on Thursday as they travel to UAB looking to avenge last Saturday’s loss. That game is a must win for WKU’s top four seed chances. With WKU’s track record of taking a step forward and two steps back repeatedly who knows what’s going to happen?
Here are your final stats from today’s disappointing loss:
