SMU guard Jimmy Whitt (center) drives to the basket against Arizona during a game Thursday in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – A shorthanded Western Kentucky squad has fought in consecutive days at the Battle 4 Atlantis against two teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.

Will the Hilltoppers have enough gas left in the tank Friday night against Southern Methodist?

“It’ll be a challenge for us, now, with limited numbers on the third day,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said Thursday. “But that won’t be an excuse.”

The Toppers will meet SMU at 6 p.m. CST Friday at Imperial Arena in the fifth-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. It’ll be a matchup of two teams that lost their first-round games, then pulled off huge wins Thursday night.

For WKU, that was a 77-73 upset of No. 18 Purdue. The Hilltoppers led for more than 38 minutes, with Justin Johnson scoring 17 points and Taveion Hollingsworth and Jake Ohmer each adding 15.

Not to be outdone, coach Tim Jankovich’s Mustangs then went and knocked off No. 2 Arizona. Guard Ben Emelogu II scored 20 points for an SMU team that only committed eight turnovers to the Wildcats’ 20.

The Mustangs beat the nation’s second-ranked team despite shooting just 22-of-70 (31.4 percent).

“The best wins of the year are always when you can’t get your shots to go in the basket and you find a way to win anyway,” Jankovich said. “That’s how great seasons are made.”

SMU will be a third straight tall test for a WKU squad that brought just seven scholarship players – Hollingsworth, Johnson, Ohmer, Lamonte Bearden, Dwight Coleby, Marek Nelson and Darius Thompson – and walk-on Tyler Miller to the Bahamas this week.

The Hilltoppers are still without Josh Anderson and Moustapha Diagne, who Stansbury expected to be key contributors this season. The duo is still waiting on NCAA clearance for academics and amateurism questions, respectively.

A thin roster has required the best out of WKU’s players who are available. Thompson has played 75 minutes the last two games, with Hollingsworth playing 70 and Johnson 68.

That shorthanded Hilltopper squad hung tough with No. 5 Villanova much of the way Wednesday before beating Purdue on Thursday for the team’s first win over a ranked squad since 2015.

“When we’re warming up with eight guys out there, people start counting,” the senior forward Johnson said. “But those eight guys, I’ll go to war with those eight guys any day of the week.

“They show up every day to practice, show up every day to weights. They’re some good dudes in that locker room and I’ll go to battle with them any day of the week.”

Notes

WKU’s win Thursday over Purdue marked the highest-ranked team the Hilltoppers have defeated since toppling No. 3 Louisville on Nov. 30, 2008.… WKU is 5-8 all-time in games played outside the United States. The Toppers are now 1-1 in the Bahamas, 3-6 in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and 1-1 in Cancun, Mexico. … WKU has made at least one 3-pointer in 943 consecutive games, dating back to March 15, 1987. … Six of the Toppers’ seven active scholarship players are averaging in double figures, between 10 and 14 points. A different player has led WKU in scoring in all five outings this season. … Johnson is 31st on WKU’s all-time scoring list with 1,180 career points. The Hazard native needs 26 points to pass Michael Fraliex to move into 30th.

Southern Methodist (4-1) vs. Western Kentucky (3-2)

6 p.m. CST, Imperial Arena, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Projected starters

SMU

Ethan Chargois, f, 6-9, fr. (10.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg); Shake Milton, g, 6-6, jr. (18.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg); Jarrey Foster, g, 6-6, jr. (13.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg); Ben Emelogu II, g, 6-5, sr. (12 ppg, 6.2 rpg); Jimmy Whitt, g, 6-3, so. (8.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg)

Western Kentucky.

Lamonte Bearden, g, 6-3, r-jr. (11 ppg, 2.8 apg); Dwight Coleby, f, 6-9, g-sr. (12.4 ppg, 7 rpg); Justin Johnson, f, 6-7, sr. (12 ppg, 10.2 rpg); Taveion Hollingsworth, g, 6-2, fr. (12.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg); Darius Thompson, g, 6-4, g-sr. (14 ppg, 3.8 apg).

Television

ESPN3

Radio

WKLX 100.7-FM

Coaches

Tim Jankovich (44-6 second year; 201-127 overall), SMU; Rick Stansbury (18-19 second year; 311-185 overall), Western Kentucky.

Series record

Western Kentucky leads 2-0 (WKU won last meeting 92-79 on Dec. 7, 1968 in Bowling Green).

Last time out

SMU beat No. 2 Arizona 66-60 on Thursday in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis; Western Kentucky beat No. 18 Purdue 77-73 on Thursday in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis.{&end}