WKU Basketball: Tops Prevail Over UT- Martin, 86–71; Pick Up First Win Of 2018–19
In a somewhat sloppy home debut, WKU basketball picked up their first win of 2018–19 the season, defeating the Skyhawks of Tennessee…
In a somewhat sloppy home debut, WKU basketball picked up their first win of 2018–19 the season, defeating the Skyhawks of Tennessee Martin, 86–71, in front of 5,815 fans at E.A. Diddle Arena.
WKU started slow, trailing UT- Martin 19–12 in the first five minutes as they turned the ball over five times in that span as Desean Murray started the game on the bench.
The slow start dragged on until the Tops tied it up at 26–26 with 11 minutes to play in the first half. The Tops finally took the lead back on a Tolu Smith layup as part of a 9–0 run that gave the Tops a four-point lead.
Charles Bassey got in on the action with a 6–0 run of his own, punctuated by an alley-oop slam.
WKU’s lead would balloon up to as many 14 before UT Martin responded with four points to give WKU a 47–37 halftime lead.
Out of the locker room, it was the Bassey show as he scored WKU’s first seven points but they let UT-Martin hang around. The Skyhawks would cut it to six but WKU responded with a 7–0 run around the 12 minute mark, extending their lead to 14.
WKU held a 71–58 lead with seven minutes left in the game but the Skyhawks wouldn’t go away; every time the Tops would extend the lead to 15–17 points, UT-Martin would grind the lead back down to 11.
The Tops finally pulled away in the final three minutes, extending the lead to 18 points before pulling the starters and coasting to a 15 point win over the Skyhawks.
Here are some thoughts on the Tops first victory of the season.
Hollingsworth continues to show he’ll be the heart and soul of this team. He paced WKU with 12 first-half points. Each time UTM would inch the game closer, Hollingsworth responded with a clutch three. He finished with a team-high 22 points and added seven rebounds and three assists.
It was a welcomed sight to see Desean Murray back. He is undersized but you can tell how valuable he’ll be to this team. He is a bulldog down low and is so crafty. In just 22 minutes, he finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. He’s definitely is a worthy successor to Justin Johnson’s veteran role of last season.
Charles Bassey’s knee brace definitely limits his mobility but against a team like UT-Martin he makes it look effortless. He is a matchup nightmare especially when he can stay out of foul trouble. In just 23 minutes he finished with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds
Jared Savage didn’t have a great shooting night, hitting just 46% of his shots but he is a great third or fourth option for this team especially when the three’s are going down. He finished with a somewhat quiet 16 points, I can’t wait to see much he can go for when his shot is going down consistently.
Josh Anderson once again had foul trouble and that limited his impact. He is full of potential but needs to find ways to stay in the game if he wants to take that big step forward this year. He played just 21 minutes because of two first-half fouls.
Tolu Smith took a big step forward as he tries to overcome his injury. On a frontcourt that could use another scorer to spell Bassey/Murray. Smith finished with six points and seven rebounds in just 12 minutes. Can’t wait to see how much he progresses as the season go on.
Dalano Banton continues to struggle with the transition to Division 1 basketball. I think we’ll just have to take the good with bad. He is still letting his lack of scoring affect the rest of his game. He did at least have two assists, showing he can distribute at this level early. He should concentrate on that moving forward and the rest of his game will come.
Jake Ohmer’s slump continues. I worry if he doesn’t develop a niche before the second semester, he’ll be nothing more than an end of the bench player once Bearden and Gambrell return. He’s lost all confidence with his shot and doesn’t attack as he used to early last season.
UT-Martin has some pieces, I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished in the top half of the OVC this year. For a program with little history, I think they’re moving in the right direction and they played tough throughout.
WKU (1–1) returns to action on Thursday as they start the Myrtle Beach Invitation against 1–0 Valparaiso. Here are your final stats from WKU’s first win of the season.