Tops put up fight in 87-68 loss at No. 8 Kentucky

Published 6:45 am Wednesday, November 27, 2024

by Jeff Nations

LEXINGTON — Western Kentucky brought plenty of fight to Rupp Arena on Tuesday night.

The Hilltoppers never lacked hustle or will against No. 8 Kentucky — even when the shots weren’t falling. And they didn’t, not enough of them. Despite whittling down what had been a 16-point second-half deficit down to six with 11:34 to play, the Tops couldn’t get any closer as the Wildcats pulled away for an 87-68 win in the third and final installment of the BBN Invitational.

WKU (3-3) largely held in check what had been a blistering long-range shooting output by Kentucky (6-0), holding the Wildcats to an 8-for-29 (27.6%) showing from 3-point range and 25-of-62 (40.3%) overall from the field. But the Tops weren’t any better, going 4-of-26 (15.4%) from 3-point range and 21-of-66 (31.8%) shooting overall in the loss.

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“Obviously we are a returning NCAA Tournament team, so we play every game to win, and Kentucky is, as I am sure most of you know, an impressive bunch,” WKU coach Hank Plona said. “It’s disappointing that we had the game to within (six) there in the second half, and obviously there are some moments we thought we could have executed and completed a couple plays and hang in there a little bit more, but at the same time, all in all, I’m pleased with our fight and resilience, and pleased with our effort, approach and attitude. Obviously Kentucky shoots the ball really well, so they had a lot to do with that.

“But all-in-all, I’m pleased with our performance tonight and feel it’s something we can use to improve and get us back to the tournament, which is our ultimate goal.”

WKU freshman guard Julius Thedford delivered another stellar performance, leading the team and tying for game-high honors with 18 points. But fellow Tops guards Don McHenry and Khristian Lander combined to go just 4-for-28 from the field. WKU’s best offense came at the free-throw line, where the Tops connected on 22-of-29. But Kentucky got there even more often, sinking 29-of-42 free throws — both season highs for the Wildcats.

The Tops entered Tuesday’s game — the only the eighth all-time against Kentucky — with some momentum after winning three straight games, including home matchups against Lipscomb and Jackson State as part of the BBN Invitational, a multi-team event (MTE) put together by Kentucky.

The Hilltoppers trailed 19-9 in the first half before rallying with a seven-point run capped by Thedford’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12:12 left in the first half. The Tops were still within six at 26-20 on Lander’s layup off a steal with a little more than seven minutes left in the first half, but the Wildcats cobbled together a 7-0 run to stretch the margin to 13 and maintained that double-digit advantage all the way to a 45-33 halftime lead.

Four more UK points to open the second half prompted Plona to call a time out with his team down 16, and the Tops steadied for a time. Thedford drilled a jump shot and drew a foul, hitting the free throw for a three-point play that got the Tops to within six at 57-51 with 11:54 to play.

The Wildcats went to work in the lane, with Otega Oweh driving through paint for a layup and then 6-foot-11 forward Andrew Carr powering in for another before Koby Brea — who had struggled all night shooting — drilled a 3-pointer that pushed the Cats’ lead 64-53 with 9:47 left.

Kentucky outscored the Tops 14-4 by the time the run was done with an Amari Williams layup with 8:29 to play that put UK ahead 71-55. WKU never got closer than 14 again the rest of the way.

Carr tallied a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Oweh also had 18 points, Lamont Butler added 14 points, Williams tallied eight points and 10 rebounds, and Brea — who entered the game as the nation’s best 3-point shooter, had nine points but was only 3-of-7 on 3s. e nation’s best 3-point shooter, had nine points but was only 3-of-7 on 3s. The Wildcats outrebounded WKU 54-41.

“Basketball is a game that is connected, offense and defense,” Plona said. “I thought there were a couple plays we did not complete the turn – maybe a shot didn’t go our way, or we missed a shot at the rim, or maybe looked back for a foul call – and all of a sudden you don’t get back on defense and they are able to run out and get some momentum. They are a very difficult team to guard.

“They’ve got four guys on the floor that can shoot at all times – at least one guy that’s among the best three-point shooters in college basketball – so guarding the three-point line was certainly our main focus coming into the game. Butler, (Jaxson) Robinson and Brea are elite shooters, I mean elite, elite shooters. Holding them to 8-of-29 from 3 as a team is accomplishing our goal.”

WKU forward Babacar Faye tallied 16 points before fouling out in the second half. Enoch Kalambay added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Tops, and McHenry scored nine points.

“Congratulations to Western Kentucky for a great, hard-fought battle,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “It’s a good team, it’s an NCAA Tournament team returning eight guys from a team that made an unbelievable run down the stretch last season to win their conference tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament. Played really, really hard. Heavy, heavy pressure — I thought they were terrific tonight and they’re going to have a really great season.

“These in-state games are always fun for everyone and it was really good for our guys. I thought our guys responded and just kind of kept grinding and grinding and grinding away.”

WKU is back at E.A. Diddle Arena to face former Conference USA rival Marshall — now in the Sun Belt Conference — in a 7 p.m. game.

About Jeff Nations

Sports Editor, Bowling Green Daily News

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