NORFOLK, Va. – Moustapha Diagne’s final stats Thursday don’t show much.

The Western Kentucky forward finished with zero points, four rebounds, four fouls and two turnovers against Old Dominion. The redshirt sophomore played 17 minutes off the bench and missed his only shot attempt.

Even with that stat line, Hilltopper coach Rick Stansbury said he doesn’t think WKU (12-5 overall, 4-0 Conference USA) would’ve earned a 75-68 win against the Monarchs (12-4, 3-1) without Diagne.

“We got in some foul trouble, had to play Mou,” Stansbury said. “He didn’t have great scoring, but we probably couldn’t have gotten out of here with his five fouls and his body in there defending. It was huge for us.”

Diagne made his Division I basketball debut Thursday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The 6-foot-9 native of Rufisque, Senegal hadn’t played an organized game since the 2015-16 season, when he was a freshman at Northwest Florida State, a junior college.

Diagne attended WKU through the 2016-17 school year as a regular student, not on the basketball team, before joining the roster this summer. He missed the Toppers’ first 16 games this season though as the NCAA examined his amateur status.

College sports’ governing body finally cleared Diagne on Wednesday afternoon, after the team had already left for Norfolk. He caught a flight that night and arrived at the Toppers’ team hotel around midnight to a round of cheers.

“It’s just great having him back on our team,” forward Justin Johnson said. “He’s a big team guy, a great guy to have on the floor with us.

“I just love having him in that locker room because he’s the best teammate you can ask for. He’s all smiles, whether he does something right on the court or not. He’s going to give you everything he’s got.”

Diagne’s addition finally gave Stansbury a full roster after the Hilltoppers played the first 15 games this year without he or guard Josh Anderson. The NCAA cleared the freshman Anderson on Jan. 5 before a game at Marshall, then gave Diagne the green light Wednesday.

Diagne’s presence was key with starting forward Dwight Coleby in foul trouble. Stansbury was able to turn to Diagne, who picked up the defensive slack that would’ve been lost without Coleby in the game.

Even with Diagne held scoreless, his length and athleticism proved valuable against a tough Old Dominion front line. The Monarchs shot 26-of-67 (38.8 percent) as a team Thursday.

“I asked him how he played, and he said he felt like he was watching himself play,” guard Darius Thompson said. “He was kind of out of it. But being out for a year-and-a-half, that can be hard on anybody.

“I’m just glad he came out and played as hard as he could, giving us that energy. That’s how he’s going to help us. I feel like he did that tonight.”{&end}