Tops set to host road-hardened Tigers at Diddle
Published 10:15 pm Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard Braxton Bayless (0) and Lipscomb Bisons guard Will Pruitt (2) battle for a loose ball. WKU hung on to defeat Lipscomb 66-61 Sunday afternoon at Diddle Arena. In a back-and-forth defensive affair that saw ten lead changes, the Hilltopper defense held the Bison to 30 second half points, earning their second win of the season. (Daily News photo by Joe Imel)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers head coach Hank Plona talks to Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard Julius Thedford (13) on the sidelines. WKU hung on to defeat Lipscomb 66-61 Sunday afternoon at Diddle Arena. In a back-and-forth defensive affair that saw ten lead changes, the Hilltopper defense held the Bison to 30 second half points, earning their second win of the season. (Daily News photo by Joe Imel)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard Khristian Lander (4) drives to the basket with Lipscomb Bisons center Grant Asman (35) defending. WKU hung on to defeat Lipscomb 66-61 Sunday afternoon at Diddle Arena. In a back-and-forth defensive affair that saw ten lead changes, the Hilltopper defense held the Bison to 30 second half points, earning their second win of the season. (Daily News photo by Joe Imel)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers forward Babacar Faye (5) drinks the ball with Lipscomb Bisons guard Miles White (5) defending. WKU hung on to defeat Lipscomb 66-61 Sunday afternoon at Diddle Arena. In a back-and-forth defensive affair that saw ten lead changes, the Hilltopper defense held the Bison to 30 second half points, earning their second win of the season. (Daily News photo by Joe Imel)
Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball has picked up a bit of momentum at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers have won two straight on their home floor after starting the season with a pair of losses to mark the beginning of first-year head coach Hank Plona’s tenure leading the team. Another home game awaits Wednesday night against Jackson State, and with it the first chance for the Tops to rise above .500 this season.
To get there, the Tops will have to deal with a travel-hardened Jackson State team in the midst of a 10-day road trip coming off a 94-81 road loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday and a visit to Rupp Arena to face No. 9 Kentucky on Friday. It’s part of a grueling slate for the Tigers, who don’t play their first home game until Jan 11 against fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) member Alabama State – the 15th game of the season for Jackson State (0-4).
“Some of the SWAC teams do that, technically in an effort to raise money,” Plona said. “At the same time, it’s quite an experience. I mean, they’ve played Houston, Xavier, Vanderbilt (and High Point). You learn from that. You get better from that.”
The Tigers are coached by Mo Williams, a 14-year NBA veteran who teamed with LeBron James to help the Cleveland Cavaliers reach the 2009 NBA Finals and then later returned to the franchise to play for the 2015-16 NBA champions.
Williams has experience coaching at Diddle, but with a different program. While coaching Alabama State during the 2021-22 season, Williams’ squad gave the Hilltoppers a stiff challenge in a game WKU pulled out 79-74 on Nov. 9, 2021. Current Jackson State guard Juan Reyna III played for Alabama State in that game, scoring 16 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
Wednesday’s 7 p.m. contest is part of the BBN Invitational, a multi-team event (MTE) featuring Kentucky, WKU, Jackson State and Lipscomb. The Hilltoppers hosted Lipscomb and earned a 66-61 win Sunday – the Bisons were scheduled to visit Kentucky on Tuesday night. WKU will wrap up play in the MTE on Nov. 26 against Kentucky at Rupp Arena.
Plona wanted to challenge his team during the nonconference portion of the season and so far he has gotten his wish.
“It sounded like a good idea at the time, but then when you get those three opponents you realize that none of these are going to be easy,” Plona said. “But don’t get me wrong – that’s what we did intentionally sign up for. Obviously Mo Williams, head coach, (former) NBA player … he’s done a great job there. I think they’ve challenged themselves and played some of the best teams in the country. They went to Vanderbilt and played very competitively the other night.”
Graduate senior Shannon Grant, a 6-foot-11 center and preseason All-SWAC first-team pick, posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to the Commodores. Grant, a transfer from Florida A&M, is averaging 7.5 points per game. The Tigers are led by redshirt sophomore combo guard Jayme Mitchell Jr., who is averaging a team-high 15 points per game. Graduate senior Romelle Mansel, a 6-9 forward, is also scoring in double digits at 10.8 points per game.
WKU got a strong outing from senior guard Enoch Kalambay in the win against Lipscomb – a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high three assists. Leading scorer Don McHenry, a senior guard, led the Tops with 21 points and is averaging a team-high 18.3 points per game as one of four Hilltoppers scoring in double digits along with senior forward Babacar Faye (16.5 points per game), graduate senior guard Khristian Lander (11.3 ppg) and freshman guard Julius Thedford (11.3 ppg).
ESPN+ has the broadcast for Wednesday’s game.
For Plona, taking on the Tigers is another opportunity for his team to grow.
“This team has already been challenged, obviously,” Plona said. “We have some winning experience in our past, but here in the last month we’ve tried to play and go out there and challenge ourselves every single day. I think when you put yourselves in challenging situations you gradually get better and better and better. And you stay more together and you stay more locked in.”
