Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball came up short on the road facing Conference USA league-leader Jacksonville State, 85-83, on Saturday night in Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama.

Khristian Lander led the Hilltoppers’ scoring effort with a career-high 30 points off 9-for-13 shooting from the field with a 6-of-9 mark from beyond the 3-point arc and a perfect 6-for-6 mark at the free-throw line.

Tyrone Marshall Jr. finished with 22 points on an 8-for-13 shooting clip with 3-of-7 from the arc and 3-of-3 at the line. Marshall led the team in rebounds with seven, adding two assists and a steal in 36 minutes of action. Braxton Bayless scored 15 points on a 70.0% (7-for-10) clip shooting from the field with five rebounds, a team-high four assists and two steals.

With the loss, WKU falls to 14-10 overall with a 5-6 mark in CUSA league play.

The Tops took the opening tip and opened scoring with a Marshall made layup to take an early 2-0 lead 18 seconds in. Bayless connected on a jumper in the paint, and Marshall notched another layup off a fast break to push the early WKU lead to 6-0 less than two minutes in.

Blaise Keita connected on a pair at the free-throw line to give WKU an 8-0 advantage at the 17:18 mark of the first half.

Jax State entered the scoring column for the first time with a layup at the 16:50 mark, but a Lander 3 moments later would push the Tops’ lead to nine, 11-2. The Gamecocks managed to cut the Hilltopper lead to three before Bayless and McHenry combined for the next 10 points for the Tops to give WKU a 13-point, 21-8 lead.

A Marshall 3-pointer pushed the Tops’ lead to 15 with 12:41 to play until the half, and another 3-pointer by Lander followed by a layup in the paint by Bayless extended the Tops’ lead to 19, the largest of the game for WKU.

WKU maintained a double-digit lead for the next seven minutes of play until JSU cut the Hilltopper lead to eight, 44-36, off a made 3 with 2:33 to play in the first half. The Gamecocks managed a bucket to cut the margin to six before the half, and the teams went into the break with the Tops leading, 44-38.

Returning for the second half, JSU evened the count for the first time 90 seconds in. A pair of made free throws by the Gamecocks gave JSU its first lead of the game, 48-46, before a Jalen Jackson basket evened the count at 48-all. The Gamecocks took a four-point lead with 14:58 remaining, but a Lander 3-pointer and a Bayless layup gave the Tops the lead back, 56-55, a minute later.

A made bucket by Marshall stretched the WKU lead back out to three, but back-to-back -pointers by JSU gave the Gamecocks a three-point lead with 12:46 to play in regulation.

A made pair at the line by Marshall again tied the game at 61-all. JSU reclaimed a four-point advantage, but another Lander triple gave the guard 19 points on the night and cut the Gamecock lead to one, 65-64. Another made pair at the line by Marshall gave the Hilltoppers the lead back, 66-65, with 9:29 remaining in the game.

The second half saw nine lead changes in total, with a Lander layup giving the Tops a one-point lead, 70-69, with 5:54 to play in regulation, and a Marshall 3-pointer reclaiming a two-point advantage in the Tops’ favor, 75-73, with 4:07 to play.

With JSU taking a four-point lead with 2:35 remaining, the Tops responded as Lander connected on a sixth 3-pointer to bring the game to within one, 79-78, with 33 seconds remaining. The Gamecocks hit both at the stripe to push the WKU deficit back out to three, but a drawn foul by Lander placed him at the line with 19 seconds remaining. Lander sunk both to again cut the JSU lead down to one, 81-80.

A foul put JSU at the line, with the Gamecocks hitting both and reclaiming a three-point lead, 83-80, with 10 seconds left in regulation. With an opportunity to tie the game and force overtime with a made 3, the Tops turned the ball over to JSU. A dunk on the other end by the Gamecocks pushed the count to 85-80 and secured the win for Jax State.

A 3-pointer by McHenry would fall as time expired, and the game ended with the Tops narrowly falling to Jax State by an 85-83 final count.

The Tops finished with a 51.8% (29-of-56) clip shooting from the field and a 50% (12-of-24) clip from beyond the arc. This marks the fifth time this season WKU has shot the ball at a clip of 50% or better. WKU finished with a perfect 13-of-13 mark at the free-throw line.

WKU led for 24:28 of the game to Jax State’s 11:47. The game saw nine lead changes, all in the second half, and eight ties.

The Hilltoppers return home to E.A. Diddle Arena next week and enter a three-game home stretch beginning with a rematch against rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be nationally televised live on CBS Sports Network.

TIME CHANGE FOR MARCH 1 GAME

Tipoff time for WKU men’s basketball’s game at New Mexico State on March 1 has been moved to 5 p.m. CT at Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The game was previously scheduled to tip at 8 p.m. CT. The Tops’ game at New Mexico State will stream live on ESPN+.