WKU Basketball: Tops Survive Scare in First Game at Charlotte, 67–63
After a less-than-ideal start to the game, the Tops were able to come back after being down by as much as eleven points to win their first…
After a less-than-ideal start to the game, the Tops were able to come back after being down by as much as eleven points to win their first of two games against Charlotte, 67–63.
The first half was pretty bad. Lots of turnovers, missed shots, and Bassey having some more issues with his back. Even with some injury struggles, he played well and finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Hollingsworth led the way with 14 points and Dayvion McKnight played well with 12 points and a bunch of clutch free throws down the stretch.
Charlotte’s Brice Williams played out of his mind today and had a career high 21 points while his teammate Jahmir Young led the game with 23 points.
You could tell the Tops hadn’t played a game in a while but despite so many things going wrong, the second half was much better and they outscored the 49ers 39–27 in the second half. The Tops never had a lead until Luke Frampton hit a big triple to make them lead 54–52 a little more than midway through the second half.
The Tops will have some time to rest before doing this game all over again at the same time, same place tomorrow. Hopefully by having this game behind them they can address what needs to be fixed but the biggest things to monitor is if Bassey and Frampton both will be healthy enough to play after today. Bassey struggled with his back most of the game while Frampton landed on a defender’s foot after shooting a three and banged it up but both of them were able to play late.
Western Kentucky now start C-USA play 1–0 and will have a shot to sweep Charlotte tomorrow. Here are the final stats from the game:
