Jairus Hamilton didn’t waste much time making his name known to Western Kentucky basketball fans.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Maryland transfer knocked down five 3-pointers and finished with team highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds in the Hilltoppers’ 82-61 exhibition win over Campbellsville at E.A. Diddle Arena on Monday.

“It was definitely a good night,” Hamilton said. “I was definitely out there shooting the ball very confident and my teammates was just giving me open shots. It just made it so much easier on my part. It’s definitely something I want to continue as the season goes forward.”

Hamilton knocked down his first 3-pointer just over two minutes into the contest to get the Hilltoppers on the board in their first of two exhibitions and remained efficient throughout the night. His 19 points came on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc.

“I thought he was probably as comfortable as anybody because I think he did one thing – he played hard – and when you play hard, it allows things to not creep in your mind, maybe some missed shots or getting beat defensively,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said.

“… I think he’s a guy too – he didn’t do it tonight – that he can go score on that block. He needs to be that guy getting to the free-throw line some. He made five 3s and that’s a good thing, but I think he can put it down, get it to the rim some, but we’ve got to get him that ball in around that block, too, where he can go score it, especially as the four guy.”

Hamilton was one of several new players joining the Hilltoppers this season that left many unknowns heading into Monday’s exhibition. Like the fans at Diddle, Stansbury was left to sit back and see what his team could do its first time in a real game setting.

“I was like you all – I’m sitting there watching and trying to figure it out a little bit, and watching and learning with some of these guys,” WKU’s sixth-year head coach said. “There’s some good things, a lot of things to work on but also some things we can build on.”

More takeaways from Monday’s game:

SLOW START

WKU didn’t score until the 17:52 mark, and even after that it was a struggle to make shots early. The Hilltoppers started the game 1-of-10 from the field and got down 7-3 to the NAIA opponent – Stansbury says his team didn’t attack the paint enough early – but back-to-back 3s from Hamilton and Josh Anderson put the Tops ahead for good. Despite the slow shooting start, WKU finished the half shooting 44.1% from the field and the game shooting 48.5% after firing 53.1% in the second half.

The Hilltoppers took a 37-23 lead into the break but blew the game open with a 12-1 run to open the second half.

“No question we were much better second half,” Stansbury said.

FREE-THROW WOES

Free throw shooting has been a staple during Stansbury’s tenure as WKU’s coach. In his five seasons leading into 2021-22, WKU has shot 1,190 more free throws than its opponents, and last year made 74 more free throws than its opponents attempted. Only 14 schools nationally were positive in that category.

The Hilltoppers shot just 14 free throws in Monday’s game and were just 57% from the free-throw line. Campbellsville finished the game 4-of-12 from the charity stripe.

“The one stat that jumps out at me – and you guys know this, it’s been a trademark of our program – getting to that free-throw line,” Stansbury said. “We only got there 14 times tonight, and that’s not near efficient enough. We can’t just depend on shooting the 3-point ball. We’ve got to go get that ball to that paint. … If you ask me one thing that jumps out at me, it was the 14 free throws that was attempted. That’s not a good stat.”

NO WILLIAMS OR HARMON

WKU announced before tip Cincinnati transfer Keith Williams and freshman Zion Harmon would not be available for Monday’s game, and Stansbury said postgame there is no timetable for them to play. The Hilltoppers are waiting for clarity on Williams’ eligibility status, while Harmon is “not playing right now for personal reasons.”

BIG TAKEAWAYS

Jaylen Butz, a 6-foot-9 forward who transferred to WKU from DePaul, got the start and finished with eight points on 4-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds. He added two assists but had four turnovers in 22 minutes and Stansbury thinks he can play better.

“He’s a guy that didn’t play at all last year. He’s the one guy basically all fall has been good for us. I didn’t think he was as good as he has been,” Stansbury said. “Second half he was better but still didn’t do some things as well as I know he can do things. I thought we all played a little jittery the first half.”

Hopkinsville native Jamarion Sharp provided a spark off the bench. The tallest player in college basketball – Sharp is 7-foot-5 – proved his athleticism by finishing several alley-oops with thunderous dunks. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and three blocks.

“I think we’ve got bigs that can run. I think no question Jamarion changes ends really quickly – about four or five strides, he’s there,” Stansbury said. “ … We want to be a team that runs. Just throw it up there around that backboard for Jamarion, he’s going to go get it. It ain’t got to be around that rim – just around that backboard. He can go get that thing.”

MCKNIGHT SOLID RUNNING THE SHOW

McKnight was poised to start his second year running the point. The 6-foot-1 sophomore out of Collins High School had 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, plus four rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes. Stansbury expects him to be a major leader as one of the key players back from last season.

“Dayvion was Dayvion,” Stansbury said. “I thought not playing for a little bit, I thought the game sped up a little bit tonight for him where in practice it’s been really slow. I don’t ever have to worry about him.”

STANSBURY – THE SON – SEES ACTION

Noah Stansbury was among the first group off the bench early in the game out of a timeout. The son of WKU’s head coach who reclassified to join the Hilltoppers early didn’t see any action last season but played 14 minutes Monday. He missed the one shot he took but came up with two rebounds.

Will he remain part of the rotation?

“We’ll see moving forward,” Stansbury said.

“He doesn’t have to come in and try to be no hero too much,” Rick Stansbury said. “Be a talker, be a communicator, move the ball, help your teammates get where they’ve got to go. Same way for him. He hasn’t played in a year and a half and I know it was new for him, but it was a good first experience for all those guys.”

UP NEXT

WKU will host University of the Cumberlands in its final exhibition Friday at 7 p.m. in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers are scheduled to open the regular season Nov. 9 at home against Alabama State.{&end}