Jan. 3, 2001
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky improved to 9-4 on the year with an 81-29 victory over Asbury College in E.A. Diddle Arena in the Hilltoppers' final non-conference game of the season.
The Toppers dominated the game from the opening tip, scoring the first seven points in the game and jumping out to a 19-2 advantage with just over 13-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half. Western pushed on out to a 41-13 lead at the intermission and never looked back in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Eagles (7-7 on the year) 12-0 in the first six-plus minutes (53-13) and taking its longest lead of the night (74-19 -- 55 points) on a pair of Nate Williams free throws at 3:17.
"We played a lot of guys and got them all a lot of minutes," Hilltopper Head Coach Dennis Felton said. "And, we played great defense. All in all, this was as close to a flawless game as you can expect."
Junior center Chris Marcus led the Hilltoppers with a career-high 25 points (to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds), hitting 11-16 shots from the floor. He also blocked five shots for the second game in a row. Sophomore frontliner Nate Williams came off the Topper bench to equal his career-high point total (11), making good on 3-4 field goals and 9-13 free tosses. And, freshman forward Raimonds Jumikis accounted for a career-high eight rebounds to go along with his eight points.
The WKU defense limited Asbury to just 29 points in the game, the lowest point total by a men's basketball team in Diddle Arena in the facility's 38-year history. The previous low point total was 34 in a 61-34 Hilltopper victory over Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 4, 1982.
