WKU Basketball: Tops Reign over Eastern Kentucky Colonels with 85-80 win
All five Hilltoppers starters netted double-digit scoring days as WKU played even more short handed than usual.
Saturday night at Diddle Arena kicked off another installment of the Battle of the Bluegrass between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers & Eastern Kentucky Colonels which saw a back-and-forth affair but, ultimately, had WKU come away with an 85-80 victory.
The Tops moved to 5-3 with the win while the Colonels dropped to 5-4.
It was a slow start to the first half for WKU as the Colonels jumped in front with a quick 6-0 lead off of back-to-back three-pointers. WKU quickly got back into the game with a 12-9 deficit as a result of more three-pointers from EKU with 15:34 left in the half.
Dayvion McKnight & Jamarion Sharp kept the Tops alive in the first half as the Tops were not only still without Josh Anderson (COVID-19) but also Jarius Hamilton, who reportedly is nursing a back injury.
Despite a scoring drought of 2:24, the Tops came back with an answer of a 7-0 run to close the gap midway through the first half and, at halftime, the Tops were in front 39-38.
The Tops came out in the second half firing, as Luke Frampton hit a three out of the gate and Dayvion McKnight added another bucket to give the Tops a 5-0 run to open the half and take a six-point lead at 42-38 in what would be their largest lead of the game until the 9:55 mark of the second half (seven points).
EKU’s lead also never eclipsed seven, as neither team was able to completely pull away from the other: EKU relied a little too heavily on the three-point shot and the Hilltoppers always seemed to have an untimely turnover that quashed any hopes of dealing an early killing blow.
With 3:56 to play and EKU leading, 74-72, the Tops rattled off a 14-6 run to end the game, with McKnight and Sharp leading the effort on the floor while Camron Justice and Sherman Brashear were clutch at the free-throw line and cement the five-point WKU win.
EKU has set a road team record in Diddle Arena with 18 made three-point field goals. They also had 51 attempts from behind the arc.
All five Hilltoppers starters scored in double figures: McKnight (22), Justice (18), Sharp (17), Brashear and Frampton (13).
Along with his 17 point evening, Sharp added 13 rebounds and was once again effective on defense, recording four blocks, even causing issues for the Colonels on the perimeter, where they lived for most of the night.
Justice added six assists to his 18 point day, and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
The Hilltoppers now have won four games in a row and will close their five-game home stand on Wednesday against Buffalo at 7 p.m. before heading to Atlanta to take on Ole Miss on Saturday.
