Tops shrug off slow start to tame Bears
Published 5:00 am Thursday, January 15, 2026
Western Kentucky started slow — again — but the Hilltoppers shrugged it off against Missouri State on Wednesday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
It took a bit, but once the Hilltoppers got rolling it seemed there was little the Bears could do to slow that momentum as WKU notched a solid 87-72 victory.
“They’re a unique team in how they play on offense for sure and a very strong and physical team in how they play on defense, so they bothered us, but I thought we did a good job after the first couple minutes figuring out what they want to do on offense, reacting, playing smart and playing together when we were on defense,” WKU coach Hank Plona said. “Then when we were on offense, being patient and moving the ball. A lot of our first actions didn’t work tonight, we weren’t just going down and scoring an easy basket, but I thought we continued to move the ball, not turn it over, go side to side a little bit and then by late clock, we probably had more late shot-clock baskets than I can remember this team having all year. I thought we played like a mature basketball team.”
Grant Newell’s first-half scoring outburst off the bench helped ignite Western Kentucky (11-6 overall, 4-2 Conference USA). The senior forward scored all 14 of his points in the first half, including a trio of 3-pointers that helped loosen up the Bears’ interior defense.
Before Newell helped get the Tops going, Missouri State (10-7, 4-2 CUSA) set up camp early in prime real estate on the court by clogging up the driving lanes under the basket – with 6-foot-4, 280-pound forward Michael Osei-Bonsu particularly occupying a lot of space in the paint.
Down 17-10 early, the Tops began to find a few seams in the defense. Graduate senior point guard Terrion Murdix threaded through the lane for a reverse layup to start a 7-0 run capped by freshman Armelo Boone’s 3-pointer that tied the game at 17-all with 9:41 left in the first half.
A few back-and-forth minutes later, graduate senior forward Blaise Keita gave WKU the lead for good with a pair of made free throws that made it 28-26 with 4:53 left in the first half.
Newell coming off a combined 2-of-12 shooting performance in the Tops’ two-game road swing last week, followed with his first 3-pointer of the night to stretch the lead to five. Newell had eight points, including another 3, as part of a 17-6 run that helped WKU push ahead 36-26 with 2:43 left in the first half.
“I don’t think it was anything different,” Newell said. “We just stuck together, stayed together. I mean that’s something that’s big. No matter if we get out to great starts or get out to bad starts, coach is always talking about how we’ve got to stay together always.”
Newell’s third 3-pointer of the night was the final made field goal of the opening half as the Tops took a 41-34 lead into the break.
“He’s been in a lot of big games,” Plona said of Newell. “We want him to shoot the right shots. We want him to attack when it’s there.”
Missouri State rallied back to within three with a quick spurt to start the second half, but Boone slowed the damage with a basket off a drive and then Ryan Myers knocked down a 3-pointer as part of a 9-3 run to stretch WKU’s lead back to nine.
The Bears got back within six at 50-44, but another Myers 3-pointer followed by Leeroy Odiahi’s dunk put the Tops up 11 with 15:35 left.
From there, WKU redshirt sophomore guard Teagan Moore took control. Moore continued to muscle through the lane to either draw a foul or finish at the rim on the way to a team-high 20 points. The Dry Ridge native scored on back-to-back possessions in the paint, then drew a foul on the next trip down for a pair of free throws (he was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line) before LJ Hackman’s 3 give the Tops a 19-point lead at 70-51 with 9:12 to play.
One final push by the Bears whittled the Tops’ lead down to nine at 73-64, but Moore scored again in the lane after a WKU timeout and the lead never dipped below double digits again.
“We were just able to stay together, stay confident in our abilities and fight back for the rest of the game,” Moore said.
Boone also finished in double digits with 11 points and added a trio of steals, while Murdix — in just his third game back after recovering from a November knee injury – put in nearly 26 minutes on the court and tallied nine points and six assists.
WKU was 24-of-29 from the free-throw line, earning nine more chances than Missouri State. The Tops had the edge in turnovers (12-8), rebounds (34-30), points in the paint (38-28) and points off turnovers (19-6).
Missouri State’s top scorer Keith Palek III finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. The Bears were just 9-of-35 from 3-point range (25.7%), while WKU was a much more efficient 7-of-16 (43.8%).
The win is the first of a three-game homestand for the Hilltoppers, who host Kennesaw State (11-6, 3-3 CUSA) on Saturday in a 2 p.m. matchup at Diddle. That game will stream live on ESPN+.
The Owls, who beat Florida International 89-86 on Wednesday night, feature CUSA’s top-scoring offense at 88.9 points per game (WKU is fourth at 81.4 points) led by guard Simeon Cottle (CUSA-leading 20.2 points per game). Cottle won’t play Saturday after the school announced his indefinite suspension Thursday. Cottle was among 20 people who have been charged in a points-shaving scheme, according to a federal indictment announced Thursday.
“We know that they can put up points in a hurry,” Plona said of Kennesaw before the Cottle suspension was announced. “So yeah, definitely happy that some guys got some offensive confidence and yeah I would think it can only help us on Saturday.”
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