WKU rallies from 11 down to beat Bisons

BOWLING GREEN — Western Kentucky rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit with sticky defense to overhaul Lipscomb 66-61 in a hard-scrabble college basketball game on Sunday afternoon in E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Hilltoppers will take a 2-2 record into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game against visiting Jackson State.

“We’re very happy to get a good win against a very good Lipscomb team that is picked to win their league (Atlantic Sun) and will win 20-something games this year,” first-year WKU head coach Hank Plona said.

“For the last 25 minutes or so we defended and rebounded as well as we have all season. I thought our team showed their grit and determination with the game on the line — we finished plays at both ends of the floor and that was great to see.

“I thought our size and quickness bothered them some — kept them out of their rhythm at times.”

WKU went on a 12-2 run to take a 55-48 lead on a short jumper by Babacar Faye with 5:15 to play, but the Bisons got bookend 3-pointers from Miles White and Jacob Ognacevic in a 10-5 spurt the visitors within 60-58 at 1:45.

Enoch Kalambay answered for Western with a short jumper in traffic make it 62-58, and after a free throw by White pulled the Bisons within three, Don McHenry scored the key basket of the game on a baseline drive at 0:26 to make it 64-59.

“I felt like I had an advantage on that drive, so I just took it to the rack with confidence,” McHenry said. “It was there for me, and that basket was able to give us some breathing room inside the final 30 seconds.”

Joe Anderson scored on a layup with 19.2 seconds to play to again pull Lipscomb within three, but Faye swished a pair of clutch free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining to seal the deal.

In the first half, the Hilltoppers jumped in front 9-4 in the first four minutes, but Lipscomb responded with a torrid 12-0 burst — shooting in front 16-9 after a steal and layup by Logan Suber at 12:03.

Midway through the half, White hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-2…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wku-rallies-11-down-beat-101600267.html

Author : Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Publish date : 2024-11-18 10:16:00

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