Western Kentucky led for just 5:32 in its season opener, but it was in front at the most important time – when the final buzzer went off.

The Hilltoppers used a late rally to survive Alabama State 79-74 on Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

“(Alabama State) shot it well, they controlled that flow for the most part, but sometimes you’ve just got to find ways to win,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “It wasn’t pretty, we didn’t shoot it particularly well at all. … Sometimes you’ve just got to find ways to win when things ain’t going your way.”

After comfortable wins in exhibition games against Campbellsville and University of the Cumberlands last week, WKU (1-0) trailed for nearly 33 minutes to open the season. After giving up an early lead at the 17:53 mark in the first half and getting down by as many as 14 points, it didn’t lead again until a free throw to cap off an and-one from Dayvion McKnight with 4:02 to play. It was part of a 13-2 WKU run that was capped off with another and-one from WKU’s sophomore point guard to make it a 70-63 game.

“Toward the end of the game, I always want the ball in my hands,” McKnight said. “I trust my teammates, but I always find the weak person and I feel like me driving and attacking put us up for a good position to score.”

Juan Reyna made a 3-pointer 11 seconds later to cut Alabama State’s deficit to four, but it was answered with two free throws from Josh Anderson to push the lead back to six. Jairus Hamilton and Reyna traded buckets to make it 74-70, but WKU overcame early free throw woes to finish strong. The Hilltoppers went just 17-for-30 (56.7%) from the line in the game, but made 5-of-7 free throws in the final 30 seconds to close out the 79-74 victory.

“I think basically the key was we just really committed to playing more aggressively, stop playing them to just come attack us but also lock in and try to apply pressure on them as well,” said WKU forward Jairus Hamilton, who finished with a team-high 21 points, including 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. “We just started to really figure out our rhythm as a team, just start to slow them down, got Dayv some open looks instead of him getting pressured all game. We started figuring out how to control them and how to take our game.”

McKnight finished with 19 points, five rebounds and six assists, with 13 of his points coming in the second half.

“It wasn’t his last four or five minutes, now. He played 39 minutes and 44 seconds – I guess he was out for 16 seconds. I’m not sure I remember that,” Stansbury said.

“It was the whole game for him, the toughness he plays with. That’s who he is, though. That’s just who he is. What he did is not uncharacteristic. He just did it in a game when things weren’t going great, his team needed him and he made winning plays throughout that game.”

Jaylen Butz added 12 points and six rebounds for WKU, and Jamarion Sharp had eight rebounds in 12:40 off the bench – including four offensive rebounds as WKU picked up nine offensive rebounds for 10 second-chance points in the final 20 minutes.

The Hilltoppers got off to a slow start against the Hornets, turning the ball over nine times in the first 10 minutes – it finished with 17 turnovers in the game. Alabama State grew its lead to nine by the 13:39 mark with a 12-0 run bookended by 3-pointers from Isaiah Range and North Hardin graduate Trace Young.

The Hornets extended their lead to as much as 14 with an 8-0 run, with all the scoring coming from Young – part of his 17-point first half – before the Hilltoppers chipped away to make it a five-point game at half. The comeback started with five straight WKU points, including a steal and thunderous and-one dunk from Josh Anderson over Young. It was part of a 13-2 WKU run to make it a one-possession game, before a turnaround jumper from Young put Alabama State up 36-31 at the break.

Young finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in his Kentucky homecoming to lead the Hornets. Reyna added 16 points in 22:38 off the bench, and Range finished with 14 points. Alabama State is scheduled to travel to Vanderbilt for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday.

WKU will next travel to Asheville, N.C., for the Asheville Championship, where it will open play Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Minnesota, before playing either South Carolina or Princeton on Sunday in its second game at the event.{&end}