Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team lost to Kennesaw State 72-69 on Wednesday at the KSU Convocation Center Kennesaw, Georgia.

The Hilltoppers fell to 11-10 overall and 4-6 in Conference USA play with their fourth straight loss.

WKU was without injured leading scorers Teagan Moore and Armelo Boone, plus senior forward/center Noah Boyde did not make the road trip.

The Tops and Kennesaw State were deadlocked at 8-8 at the first media timeout with 15:30 left in the opening half. WKU’s early offense came on 3-pointers from Kade Unseld and LJ Hackman, plus a dunk by Leeroy Odiahi, who also impacted the game defensively with two early blocks.

After a Blaise Keita layup tied it at 12, the Owls answered with an 8-2 spurt to move in front 20-14 just past the midway point of the half. The Hilltoppers countered, pulling even at 26-26 behind seven straight points from Ryan Myers and three made free throws by Grant Newell.

WKU continued to capitalize at the foul line late in the period, scoring seven of its final 10 points of the half at the likne. Keita (2-for-2), Hackman (3-for-3) and Terrion Murdix (2-for-2) each converted all of their attempts, while Newell added a 3-pointer as the Hilltoppers went into halftime trailing 37-36.

Newell and Jack Edelen opened the second half with layups before a Myers 3-pointer gave WKU its first edge since the early going at 43-42, only for Kennesaw State to answer with a layup to go back in front, 44-43, with 16:21 remaining. Unseld’s second triple of the night swung the margin back to the Tops at 46-44 with just over 15 minutes left.

That shot helped spark WKU’s best stretch of the night, as it pushed the cushion to as many as 10 at 63-53 with 6:30 on the clock. Six different Hilltoppers scored during the surge, highlighted by five points from Newell and four from Cade Stinnett, while Hackman, Myers, Unseld and Edelen chipped in two each.

Kennesaw State mounted a late charge, stringing together a 14-2 run to seize a 67-65 lead with 3:01 to play. Newell responded with a jumper to even the score at 67-67, but the Owls answered with a timely 3-pointer to reclaim a three-point edge at the 2:29 mark.

Murdix knocked down two free throws to trim the deficit to one with 1:34 remaining, but WKU came up empty on its final opportunities, ultimately falling 72-69.

Newell finished with 15 points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 25 minutes off the bench, going 5-for-8 from the free throw line.

Myers added 12 points in 24 minutes off the bench, hitting 4-of-8 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, while also chipping in two rebounds and a steal.

Hackman had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal across 27 minutes. He was perfect from the line, hitting all five of his free throws.

Murdix contributed across the board with eight points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in just 19 minutes.

Unseld scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in 19 minutes. It was the first start of his collegiate career.

Keita pulled down a season-high eight rebounds in 16 minutes of action, also adding four points off the bench.

In his first start of the season, Odiahi tallied four points and two blocks in 22 minutes.

Stinnett produced four points and four rebounds in a career-high 19 minutes.
WKU held advantages in points off turnovers (12-8), second-chance points (17-8), bench points (35-22), assists (10-9) and steals (7-6) while tying Kennesaw State in rebounding (40-40).

The Hilltoppers conclude their three-game road swing on Saturday at Middle Tennessee. Tipoff at the Murphy Center is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT, with the game airing nationally on CBS Sports Network.