Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team fell on the road at Kennesaw State, 76-69, on Thursday night in KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Don McHenry led the Hilltoppers in scoring with a tie for a career high in points with 30 on a .500% (9-for-18) clip shooting from the field.

Khristian Lander finished with 13 points off 5-for-11 shooting from the field with a team-high six rebounds, one assist and a steal. Tyrone Marshall Jr. led the team with three steals and two blocks. With the loss, WKU falls to 14-9 overall with a 5-5 mark in Conference USA.

KSU won the opening tip and connected on a jumper 15 seconds in to the game to take an early lead, 2-0. A drawn foul and a made pair at the stripe by Enoch Kalambay knotted the count at 2-2, a minute into play. The Owls followed with a 14-0 scoring run as the Tops went scoreless for over four minutes and fell behind, 16-2, with 14:53 to play in the half.

A 3-pointer by Marshall ended the Tops’ scoreless run, and following a two-point bucket by KSU, a 3 by Lander cut the Owls’ lead to 10, 18-8, with 13:30 to play until the break.

Both teams went scoreless for over two minutes before KSU stretched its lead back out to 14, 22-8, with 11:05 to play in the first. A Jalen Jackson 3 cut the Tops’ deficit to eight before the Owls pushed it back out to double digits moments later.

Trailing by 15, 31-16, at the 7:05 mark of the first, the Hilltoppers found a rhythm offensively while holding the Owls in check on defense and outscored KSU, 9-0, for the remainder of the half. A pair of made free throws by McHenry cut the margin to just six, and the teams entered halftime with WKU trailing, 31-25.

Entering the second half, a free throw by McHenry and a made bucket by Lander narrowed the margin to three, 31-28, a minute into play. The Tops stalled on offense again as KSU extended its lead back out to 14 with 14:14 remaining in regulation. After battling back, a Lander 3 brought the score to 48-42 with 11:40 to play in the second.

The Tops were unable to limit KSU scoring, as the Owls once again pushed the margin back into double digits. WKU’s Braxton Bayless connected on a 3-pointer to cut it to nine, 67-58, but another KSU scoring run gave the Owls a 16-point lead, 74-58, with 1:19 to play in regulation. The Tops mounted a final push to narrow the Owl lead to seven, but were unable to catch KSU.

McHenry adde a team-high six boards and two steals. The senior guard has now posted double figures in seven consecutive games and 27+ points five times this season.

WKU failed to gain a lead for the entirely of the game despite posting two scoring runs toward the end of each half, including a 9-0 run in the final seven minutes of the first half

Despite even numbers, the Tops finished with a 34.9% clip from the field to KSU’s 44.6%

KSU charted 11 fast-break points compared to the Tops’ six. WKU managed a total of 24 points off turnovers while limiting the Owls to just six.

Thursday’s loss marks the first-ever facing Kennesaw State. WKU moves to 3-1 all-time in meetings facing the Owls.

WKU continues its road swing in a matchup facing Jacksonville State on Saturday. Tipoff from Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama, is slated for 4 p.m. CT with the game streaming live on ESPN+.