HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Another big lead, another road collapse and another wasted opportunity.

For the second time in as many games, Western Kentucky jumped out to a big first-half lead Saturday night. And for the second straight game, the Hilltoppers gave that lead away, losing 70-69 at Marshall.

Forward Jannson Williams hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for the Thundering Herd (10-6, 3-0 Conference USA) with 21 seconds to play. WKU (8-8, 1-2) had a chance to answer and win the game but couldn’t convert.

The Toppers’ loss at the Cam Henderson Center came in a game they led for 33 minutes, 56 seconds. WKU was in front by as many as 15 points late in the first half.

“We can’t get loose down the stretch,” said Hilltopper guard Josh Anderson, who scored 13 points in the loss.

“We’ve got to come together and play a complete game.”

WKU has now blown a combined 36 points worth of leads over its last two games – both on the road and both against fellow C-USA contenders.

In their most recent game before Saturday, the Tops jumped out to a 21-0 lead Jan. 5 at Old Dominion. They let that slip away and lost 69-66.

Then, against Marshall, WKU was up 38-23 with 2:46 left in the first half and led 42-31 at halftime. The Herd outscored the Hilltoppers 39-27 over the final 20 minutes, shooting 53.3 percent to WKU’s 40 percent in the second half.

Topper coach Rick Stansbury said Saturday’s loss at Marshall was “totally different” than his team’s defeat at Old Dominion, even if both involved blowing big leads. His reasoning was that the Monarchs completed their comeback and took a lead with several minutes to go, while the Herd didn’t take a second-half lead until Williams’ 3.

Still, both losses are stinging defeats for a WKU squad that sits at .500 more than halfway through its 31-game regular-season schedule.

“The game is 40 minutes,” Hilltopper guard Taveion Hollingsworth said, “and we’ve been lacking when we’re supposed to go out there and play hard.”

Taevion Kinsey was the difference maker for Marshall. The freshman guard made just his third career start Saturday and scored a career-high 23 points while also grabbing seven rebounds.

Kinsey scored 15 of his points in the second half. He was joined in double figures by Williams (12 points) and Jon Elmore (21), who also poured in 15 points over the final 20 minutes.

“Somewhere throughout a game, Elmore is going to press his will on you a little bit,” Stansbury said. “He did in the second half.”

Hollingsworth scored 20 points to pace WKU, followed by center Charles Bassey (16 points) and Anderson (13).

Guard Lamonte Bearden scored seven points over 21 minutes in his most action since playing 24 minutes Dec. 19 in a loss at Belmont. Bearden played 12 second-half minutes in place of starting point guard Dalano Banton, who posted a negative assist-to-turnover ratio (two assists, four turnovers) for the second straight game.

“I just went with someone that has more experience and is someone I trusted more in that situation,” Stansbury said of the redshirt senior Bearden.

WKU was in control early on, taking a 31-21 lead with 5:40 left in the first half on a Bassey dunk.

Thirteen seconds later, Bassey came up favoring his right knee after fouling Williams on a corner 3. The freshman was immediately helped back into the locker room.

WKU announced a short time later that Bassey sustained a knee contusion. He played 15 second-half minutes while wearing a protective sleeve over his knee.

Bassey scored 10 points and grabbed two rebounds the first half before hurting his knee. He had six points, four rebounds and four turnovers in the second period.

“He wasn’t as effective the second half, but he says he’s OK,” Stansbury said. “That had nothing to do with us winning and losing.”

Marshall cut the lead to single digits soon into the second half, getting to within 44-38 on an Elmore three-point play with 17:30 left.

WKU answered and pushed its advantage back up to 12, 54-42, on a Bassey dunk with 13:29 left. But the Tops scored only 15 points the rest of the night, struggling to get good looks at the basket after outscoring Marshall 26-8 in the paint during the first half.

“I thought we really locked in on defense,” the senior Elmore said. “We made it tough the second half. I don’t know how many steals we got, loose balls, made guys walk.”

An Elmore 3 with 5:14 left brought the Thundering Herd to within 65-63. Anderson followed with a layup to put WKU back up four.

The teams traded several scoreless possessions before Kinsey’s layup off an Elmore assist made the score 67-65 with 2:57 to play. Then a Williams dunk off another Elmore helper tied the game at 67 with 1:45 left.

Bearden quickly answered with a layup, giving his team its last lead of the night at 69-67 with 1:26 to go.

Marshall and WKU traded missed baskets. Then, on the Herd’s final possession, forward Rondale Watson passed out of the corner to Williams at the top of the key. Bassey was a step late closing out, and the sophomore Williams buried the 3-pointer to put the home team ahead.

The Hilltoppers’ final possession included a pass that Marshall knocked out of bounds and an on-the-floor Thundering Herd foul of Hollingsworth.

Inbounding on his own baseline with four seconds left, Bearden threw a lob up to Bassey. The ball glanced out of the big man’s reach and into Watson’s hands.

Anderson wrestled the ball away from Watson and threw up a leaning last-second shot, but it bounced off the rim and WKU lost.

“It never should have come down to that situation,” Stansbury said of the final play. “There’s a lot of plays we had before that. …

“But again, when you’re on the road, it’s a fine line – a very, very fine line.”

Up next

WKU finally plays its first home conference game Thursday when its hosts Florida International at 7 p.m. It’s the first of three contests at E.A. Diddle Arena in five days for the Hilltoppers, who’ll also host Florida Atlantic on Saturday and Marshall on Jan. 21.

The Panthers (11-6, 2-2) nearly beat Old Dominion on Saturday night, but fell 75-74 on a putback in the final seconds.

Notes

Stansbury is 50-36 in his third year at WKU and 343-202 in his coaching career. … The Hilltoppers lead their all-time series against Marshall 15-12 and are 4-9 against the Thundering Herd in Huntington. … Forward Marek Nelson dressed for Saturday’s game but didn’t play. He was suspended indefinitely by Stansbury following a Dec. 23 DUI arrest and wasn’t with the team for three games. He’s also recently battled a knee injury. … Banton’s 3-pointer with 16:15 left in the first half stretched WKU’s streak of consecutive games with at least one made 3 to 992, dating to March 15, 1987. … Announced attendance at the Cam Henderson Center was 7,687.{&end}