Photo Gallery
Coach Stansbury Interview (VIDEO) | Bassey Interview (VIDEO) | Diagne Interview (VIDEO)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — With the first exhibition game of the season just over a week away, WKU Hilltopper Basketball took to the court in front of several hundred fans Saturday for a free, open scrimmage at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers completed 42 minutes of game action, although the scrimmage was segmented so that players could change teams and experience different lineup combinations.
"Well, it's very obvious that it's a work in progress," WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "There's some good, there's some bad. Playing different lineups together a little bit was good, changing some defenses and the flow of the game was good. All of these things we need, it's very obvious we've got to get better at all of them."
Sophomore guard Taveion Hollingsworth, a preseason All-Conference selection, led all scorers with 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He also had eight rebounds and four assists.
Freshman Charles Bassey – who was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list for the nation's top center Friday – tallied 30 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals.
Bassey had 20 points in the first 20 minutes of the scrimmage and finished 12 of 17 from the floor.
"I'm adjusting good," Bassey said. "I have a good coach and good teammates, and they just help me every time with running the floor and doing what I do. That's why we play this kind of game, so you know you can count on your teammates."
Sophomore guard Josh Anderson looked comfortable in his move to point guard, scoring 23 points while dishing out 12 assists with just one turnover. He chipped in five steals and five rebounds.
Redshirt junior forward Moustapha Diagne also scored 23 points, including a 6-of-9 display from 3-point range, with seven rebounds.
"Right now I feel like I've got a lot of confidence," said Diagne, who wasn't declared eligible last season until January. "Last season was rough, not being able to play for half the season, so I took the offseason to work on my game every day, and then I got my confidence back."
Preseason All-C-USA selection and graduate senior forward Desean Murray finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists, while freshman guard Dalano Banton recorded 18 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.
Redshirt junior guard/forward Jared Savage notched 17 points and made 5 of 7 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Jake Ohmer had 15 points and three assists, and sophomore forward Marek Nelson and junior forward Matt Horton contributed 13 points and nine points, respectively.
As a whole, the Hilltoppers shot 56.5 percent from the field, 44.7 percent from 3-point range and tallied 40 assists against 30 turnovers.
WKU will be back on the court for its first exhibition against Campbellsville at 7 p.m. Oct. 30 at Diddle Arena.
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- Big Red
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
