Hunter Wilson/Daly News Western Kentucky’s Steffphon Pettigrew (left) battles for the ball Tuesday against Indiana State’s Brant Leitnaker during the Sycamores’ 64-63 victory at E.A. Diddle Arena in the consolation round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. -- Click here for a photo slideshow from the game.

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What a difference six-tenths of a second makes.

Jameson Tipping’s 3-pointer with just six-tenths left on the clock Tuesday tied Western Kentucky’s game with Indiana State and sent E.A. Diddle into a cheering frenzy.

What happened after that sent the crowd into a booing tirade.

After Tipping’s desperate heave knotted the contest at 63-63, WKU senior Jeremy Evans was whistled for a blocking foul on the ensuing inbounds play with just one-tenth of a second remaining. That allowed Indiana State senior Rashad Reed to split a pair of free throws as the Sycamores notched a dramatic 64-63 win over the Hilltoppers in the consolation round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

“That’s a tough situation at the end where two guys are going for a ball and one has a little more momentum,” WKU coach Ken McDonald said of the final foul call. “It’s a tough break at the end, but it shouldn’t have come to that.”

The loss snapped WKU’s 15-game home winning streak.

After trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, WKU (2-2) unleashed a feverish 14-3 run over the final three minutes of the contest. The final shot coming on a hanging, one-handed heave from Tipping from just beyond the 3-point arc to tie the game for the first time since 10-10 early in the first half.

But on the inbounds play, Indiana State (4-2) hoped a length-of-the-court pass with less than a second to play would produce a miracle. It did.

As Evans and Reed both went for the ball, the two collided and Evans was whistled for a foul as the buzzer sounded. The officials conferred with the clock operator, and they decided to place one-tenth of a second back on the clock.

Reed then stepped to the line and split a pair of free throws, ending the game.

“The last play, there was contact,” Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna said. “Rashad had the ball, the guy went after him and made contact and the officials made the right call.

“Now, do they always call that in that situation? No. But there was contact and it was clearly a foul in my eyes.”

Reed said he didn’t anticipate drawing a foul in that situation. “I was really just trying to catch it and make the shot, I really wasn’t expecting a call there,” Reed said. “But he called it and I stepped to the line and made a free throw.”

McDonald said he didn’t get a great look at what happened because the play happened so fast. So he wasn’t ready to pass judgment on the official’s decision.

“Two guys are going for the ball and once the ball’s up in the air for that long, it’s anybody’s ball,” McDonald said. “I’ll have to see the replay to see whether or not it’s a good call - but they had a better angle.

“It’s a tough way to end a basketball game. But it has everything to do with the 39 minutes and 59 seconds before it, not the last second. Before that was when the game was lost.”

Those prior 39-plus minutes didn’t exactly go WKU’s way. The Sycamores had more energy in every facet of the game from the tip, jumping to a 14-point halftime lead and eventually pulling out to a 16-point advantage early in the second half.

WKU gradually made a run over the final 15 minutes behind a valiant effort from A.J. Slaughter, who scored all 20 of his points in the second half.

-- Click here for a photo slideshow from the game.

The Hilltoppers whittled the lead to just seven with 1:38 to play before a Tipping steal at midcourt set up a quick Slaughter 3-pointer to make it a four-point game.

After Indiana State’s Jake Kelly split a pair of free throws, WKU junior Steffphon Pettigrew was fouled going for a defensive rebound. Pettigrew hit two free throws to bring WKU within two points.

ISU’s Dwayne Lathan had a chance to ice the game with 14 seconds left, but couldn’t find the net on either of his free throw attempts. That allowed WKU to advance the ball before Tipping’s desperation 3.

Undoubtedly a tough loss for WKU, McDonald said the Hilltoppers have no one to blame but themselves.

“We put ourselves in that position and we shouldn’t have been in it,” McDonald said. “If we came out that hard at the beginning as we did at the end, we’re not in that position and we’re not begging for calls.

“There’s going to be missed calls and those things throughout the game. … But it shouldn’t have come to that.”

Pettigrew added 13 points and eight rebounds for WKU, which shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first half. Lathan led the way for ISU with 15 points and five rebounds.

The Hilltoppers will now have seven days off before traveling to South Carolina to face former coach Darrin Horn on Dec. 2.

During that time, McDonald said WKU simply needs to find a way to refocus itself and come back with a better mindset.

“The best thing about this game is that it’s over right now,” McDonald said. “It hasn’t been a good two days and we haven’t had a good start, no question, and these guys are just as disappointed as the coaching staff - no question.

“But now comes a time to reflect and get back with our families and spend some time to get re-energized and then come back with a great attitude on how to attack our next opponent. … If we get better individually, we’re going to be a heck of a team down the road here.”