WKU Basketball: Tops Pull Away In Second Half, Best UTEP, 75–59
After a thrilling win on Thursday, the WKU basketball team overcame some periods of sluggish play and took care of business against C-USA…
After a thrilling win on Thursday, the WKU basketball team overcame stretches of sluggish play and took care of business against C-USA bottomfeeder UTEP in front of 6,397 in E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday.
Against a UTEP team with just seven wins on the season, it was an early struggle. Despite leading 34 of the 40 minutes of the game, the Tops couldn’t put away the Miners. In the first half, UTEP hung around on the strength of 11 points from Nigel Hawkins keeping it close for a 34–31 WKU lead at the half.
The second half was a slog until WKU imposed their will against the shorthanded Miners. Despite another slow start, WKU’s lead fluctuated between 11 and four-points until the Tops finally pulled away in the last four minutes. The Tops blew it open on Josh Anderson’s and Charles Bassey’s shoulders, cruising to a 75–59 win to move to 13–10 (6–4) on the season.
Here are a few quick post game thoughts on WKU’s fifth win in six games:
Josh Anderson wins the player of the game award. He stuffed the stat sheet again, finishing with 18 points, four rebounds and two assists. It’s great seeing his mid-season emergence as he’s starting to separate himself as one of WKU’s top two players
Charles Bassey had another great game. UTEP didn’t try to deny him the ball like so many other teams do and Bassey responded with 17 points, 12 rebounds, a block and a steal. I don’t think it was a coincidence that WKU had one of their most comfortable wins with him attempting 14 shots (his second-best total of the season)
Lamonte Bearden had another steady game, distributing his way to seven assists to go along with nine points, four rebounds, and only two turnovers. Stansbury’s decision to trust him again continues to pay dividends
The bench trio of Jake Ohmer, Tolu Smith and Dalano Banton contributed for 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. While not spectacular, they all had moments that gave crucial rest to the starters.
The Tops finished with just nine turnovers. The recent two-game average of 7.5 turnovers is a great development that can be attributed to Bearden’s re-emergence and the Texas school's lack of defensive aggressiveness. If that trend continues, I think WKU can finally turn the corner.
It was refreshing to see the Tops put away an inferior opponent in the second half. WKU once again has a golden opportunity next week to turn the corner on their Texas road trip against Rice and North Texas. If they win both, they should be in the top four of the league standings heading into the last week before bonus play.
Final Stats
