Jan. 18, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Chris Marcus had 11 points and 17 rebounds to record his seventh straight double-double and help Western Kentucky beat Louisiana Tech 55-47 in Sun Belt Conference East Division play Thursday night.
Nashon McPherson had 12 points for Western (13-5, 6-1 Sun Belt East) and Derek Robinson had 11. David Boyden added 10 points for the Hilltoppers.
Marco Cole had a game-high 16 points for Louisiana Tech (10-7, 3-3).
Cole was 4-for-8 from 3-point range, including a buzzer-beater to put Louisiana Tech up 28-27 at the half.
Zach Johnson capped a 6-0 run to open the second half with a free throw to put Louisiana Tech up 34-27. Johnson was 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free throw line to finish with a career-best 15 points.
A Tremain Rowles' jump shot at 11:04 remaining capped a 14-2 Western run and put Western up 45-39.
Louisiana Tech closed to 45-44 on a 3-pointer by Cole with 7:43 remaining. But a driving bucket by Filip Videnov and a three by Derek Robinson (at 4:24) gave the Hilltoppers some breathing room and Western went on to score 10 of the last 13 points in the game.
Tech's point total was the Bulldogs' lowest in three seasons. However, Tech was hampered by the absence of last year's Sun Belt Player-of-the-Year, Gerrod Henderson, who sat out the game recovering from an injury.
The WKU defense has now limited its opposition to sub-40% field goal shooting in five of the last seven games.
Trailing 19-18 on the boards at the half, the Hilltoppers came out with a vengance in the final period, outrebounding Tech by a convincing 43-34 total for the game.
Western's victory, coupled with Arkansas State's 53-50 loss at Arkansas-Little Rock, pushed the Hilltoppers into first place in the Sun Belt East, a half game ahead of the Indians (5-1).
Now, the Toppers take a week off before hosting Arkansas State in E.A. Diddle Arena next Thrusday at 7 p.m. (CST). In the meantime, ASU plays at Florida International Saturday evening.
