WKU Basketball: Tops Return to Diddle Arena, Rout Mississippi Valley State 96–69
On Sunday, the 2–2 WKU Hilltoppers basketball team kicked off their 2020–2021 home schedule at E.A. Diddle Arena. Their opponents were…
On Sunday afternoon the 2–2 WKU Hilltoppers basketball team kicked off their 2020–2021 home schedule at E.A. Diddle Arena. Their opponents were Mississippi State Valley University. The Delta Devils (0–4) were also searching for their first win of the year.
Opening the first half, the Tops wasted no time in going out to a commanding lead. Through the first time out, WKU was leaving 12–7. Jordan Rawls, Kevin Osawe, and Luke Frampton also came off the bench and made a significant impact in keeping an early lead. At the 10:30 mark, the Tops increased their lead to 27–13 after Frampton dishes the possession to Charles Bassey down low in the paint. Through the first half, Tavieon Hollingsworth was the first Hiltopper in the game to reach double digits in points. He led the team with 12 made baskets. Carson Williams and Bassey both combined for 11 rebounds. At the end of the first half, it was all Tops 45–33.
Coming into the second half, Western kept on task to maintain their lead. However, this was a challenge for Mississippi Valley State. They had taken advantage of their three-point shooting efforts, making 10 of them in the contest. Even though the Delta Devils were attempting to come back, a familiar face came into rotational play.
Osawe made it to 15 points as he was a huge help for the starters and made a claim for more playing time. The Tops had also lost the turnover battle, allowing 13 of them. The Tops continued to be dominant through the rest of the second half. The Tops grabbed their third win of the year, beating Mississippi Valley State 96–69. Charles Bassey recorded another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Hollingsworth led all started with 16 points.
Although this was expected to be a full offensive blowout, there is still room for improvement. Today proved that with a deep bench and potential role players, we should be fine going into the season. The Hilltoppers will be back in action at Diddle on Thursday against Gardner-Webb. The game will be streamed at 8 pm central time on ESPN Plus.
Here are the final stats from today’s victory in Diddle:
