McHenry, Bayless pace WKU to road win against Bearkats
Published 11:33 pm Saturday, January 25, 2025
Western Kentucky graduate senior forward Tyrone Marshall Jr. looks to pass the ball during the Tops' 75-66 win against Sam Houston on Saturday in Huntsville, Texas. (WKU ATHLETICS)
Western Kentucky senior guard Enoch Kalambay (left) looks for a driving lane against Sam Houston during WKU's 75-66 win Saturday in Huntsville, Texas. (WKU ATHLETICS)
Western Kentucky graduate senior guard Khristian Lander shoots a layup against Sam Houston during WKU's 75-66 win Saturday in Huntsville, Texas. (RALPH DILLIHAY)
Western Kentucky senior guard Enoch Kalambay puts up a shot against Sam Houston during WKU's 75-66 win Saturday in Huntsville, Texas (RALPH DILLIHAY)
Western Kentucky senior guard Enoch Kalambay puts up a shot against Sam Houston during WKU's 75-66 win Saturday in Huntsville, Texas (RALPH DILLIHAY)
Western Kentucky senior guard Don McHenry puts up a shot against Sam Houston during WKU's 75-66 win Saturday in Huntsville, Texas (RALPH DILLIHAY)
Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team posted a 75-66 road victory over Sam Houston on Saturday afternoon in Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas.
With the win, the Hilltoppers improve to 12-8 overall with a 3-4 mark in Conference USA play.
“To start out with five out of seven on the road in this league, which is the ninth-rated league in America right now, it’s a challenge,” WKU head coach Hank Plona said during his postgame interview on the Hilltopper Radio Network. “And to be able to come down here on this trip on a Saturday after a quick turnaround, it’s an impressive win. It just shows a little bit of our players’ mental strength and toughness and togetherness. It’s just a real good win for us.”
WKU senior guard Don McHenry led all scorers with 20 points off 6-for-17 shooting from the field with a perfect 6-of-6 mark at the free-throw line. Braxton Bayless followed in the scoring column with 16 points off 6-for-9 from the field and a 2-of-3 clip from beyond the 3-point arc with five rebounds, a team-best four assists and a pair of steals. Enoch Kalambay and Blaise Keita led the Hilltoppers in rebounding with seven boards each, with Kalambay adding 13 points off 3-for-6 from the field and a 2-of-3 clip from 3-point range, two assists and two steals. Khristian Lander rounded out the Tops to reach double figures scoring with 10 points while adding four boards, two assists and a steal.
WKU won the jump ball and took an early 1-0 lead with a made free throw by Kalambay. After a 5-0 run by the Bearkats, Tyrone Marshall Jr. made a jumper in the paint to bring the score to 5-3. Sam Houston connected from 3-point range to push its lead to five, but McHenry answered with a 3 to narrow the margin to two, 8-6, three minutes into the game.
Bayless connected on a layup off a fast break before Kalambay sunk a jump shot in the paint to even the score at 10-all with 14:32 to play until the half. After the Bearkats went ahead, 16-13, at the 11:22 mark, Jack Edelen responded with a 3 moments later to again even the count at 16-all.
After Sam Houston maintained a single-digit lead for the next nine minutes of the first half, a 3-pointer by Kalambay evened the score at 34-all with 2:11 to play before the break.
With three seconds left in the period, Lander hit on a layup to regain a Tops’ lead for the first time since the opening minute of play, and WKU entered halftime leading Sam Houston, 36-34.
The teams returned for the second half and traded leads for the next six minutes of regulation. Marshall hit from 3-point range to give the Tops a three-point lead, the team’s largest of the game at that point, before Sam Houston responded with a 3 of its own seconds later to even the count at 41-all. After the Bearkats took a two-point lead off a pair of made free throws, a 3 by McHenry gave WKU a one-point lead, 46-45, at the 14:56 mark of the second.
After Sam Houston retook the lead and maintained a lead or tie for the next five minutes of play, a layup by Lander off a Bearkat turnover gave WKU a one-point, 54-53 lead with 9:26 remaining in regulation. A made pair of free throws by McHenry and a layup by Marshall pushed the Tops’ lead to five, 58-53, before Kalambay drained a deep 3 from the right wing to extend the Hilltopper lead to eight, 61-53, with 5:57 to play.
A 3 by Sam Houston cut the Hilltopper lead to four with two minutes remaining, but a McHenry driving layup pushed it back out to six, 65-59, 30 seconds later. A layup by Bayless following another Bearkat turnover gave WKU a 67-59 lead, and a made layup off a fastbreak by McHenry gave WKU a double-digit lead, 69-59, in the final minute of play.
Free throws by McHenry, Bayless and Marshall iced the game and secured the 75-66 victory for WKU.
McHenry has now posted double figures scoring in 16 of the team’s 20 outings and 20+ points in eight games.
WKU benefitted from 41 total points from its bench while holding the Bearkat bench to just nine points.
The Hilltoppers finished the day shooting 44.1% from the field while limiting Sam Houston to 37.5%. WKU connected on 83% (15-of-18) at the free-throw line to Sam Houston’s 61% (11-of-18)
The Tops return home next week and will continue conference play hosting UTEP on Thursday. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena is slated for 7 p.m. with the game set to stream live on ESPN+.
