WKU Basketball: Tops Sweep Thundering Herd in Moonshine Throwdown, 69–67
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers traveled away from Diddle Arena for game two of the Moonshine Throwdown series against Marshall. After the…
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers traveled away from Diddle Arena for game two of the Moonshine Throwdown series against Marshall. After the Tops won on Friday night, they arrived in Morgantown, West Virginia looking for the series sweep.
The game started in favor of the Tops. They were on a 9–5 run over the Thundering Herd through the first six minutes of the first half. Marshall quickly retaliated and came out in front with a triple, making the score 10–9. Luke Frampton came in off of the bench and hit a quick three-pointer. This put the Tops back in the lead 14–10 near the halfway mark.
Western’s biggest lead of the half came from a 24–19 fixture. At the start of the last five minutes, the game was tied at 25. This was the result of a hard played defensive battle on both sides of the court. Marshall broke away with a 13–2 run to try and close out the first half. After a buzzer-beating shot made by Taevion Kinsey, the Thundering Herd leads the Tops 35–27.
In the second half, the Tops were back to back on the opening scoring possessions. Carson Williams hit a triple to tie the game once again at 41. This was short-lived as Marshall scored five unanswered points to create a 46–41 lead. Near the halfway mark, the Tops were leading 49–48. Back and forth scoring possessions ensued between Western & Marshall. After several lead changes, the Tops led 62–60 under the last four minutes.
The Moonshine Throwdown was good as advertised as the game went down to the final possession. After a foul called on Taveion Hollingsworth, Marshall went to the line to take control of the ball game with two made free throws. Jordan Rawls was fouled on the next possession. He made both three throws to extend a late 69–66 lead with seven seconds left. Fearing that Marshall can tie the game with a three, the Tops played a conservative fouling effort. Marshall went back to the line to make more free points to keep the lead.
After an atrocious call from the officials that turned the ball back to Marshall, it wasn’t enough to put away the Tops. After what seemed to be a frustrating game, it paid off as the Tops got the game two win with the final score of 69–67. This was the first series sweep of the tops in the 2020–2021 season.
Notes from the game:
The three point-scoring attacks were surprisingly pleasant.
The offense still is having a problem with the turnover battle. At this point, it’s beyond concerning because this group has the potential to be better.
Charles Bassey was one rebound short of a double-double but today was a fun game for him. He put up 24 points.
Carson Williams was in his zone today. He had his highest-scoring game of the season with 16 points.
The Tops now have a record of 11–4, with being 4–2 in Conference USA league play. They will travel to Murfreesboro on Saturday, January 23rd for the latest installment of the 100 Miles of Hate versus Middle Tennessee State. The game has a 4 pm tipoff central time on ESPN Plus.
Here are the final stats from today’s win in Huntington:
