LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Turnovers plagued WKU Hilltopper Basketball in a 75-54 loss at Louisville on Tuesday night.
The Hilltoppers (2-2) turned the ball over 21 times, including five times in the first three minutes of the second half. That allowed a five-point halftime deficit to turn into a Louisville lead as large as 23 in the final seconds.
"It wasn't the same team I watched in three games out in South Dakota," WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "Now for what reasons, I have no idea. Except I know this: you can't beat good teams on the road turning the basketball over. We turned that basketball over five straight times coming out of the locker room. I don't know if I've ever seen a stat with seven assists and 21 turnovers. I know it was 2 to 12 in the second half. That's a bad stat. You're not going to beat any good team turning the ball over."
WKU had two 8-0 runs in the first half and led 25-17 at the 9:01 mark after a 3-pointer by redshirt junior guard Luke Frampton.
But Louisville went on a 10-0 run to go back up 29-25 and pushed it to 34-29 at the break.
The Hilltoppers lost several straight possessions to turnovers early in the second half, and after getting back within 45-41 on a basket by freshman guard Dayvion McKnight, allowed Louisville to go on a 12-0 run to pull away.
Senior guard Taveion Hollingsworth led WKU with 19 points, while junior center Charles Bassey added 13 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.
Dre Davis paced Louisville (4-0) with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The Cardinals shot 56% in the second half and scored 21 points off WKU's turnovers.
WKU is leaving the Louisville bubble and returning to Bowling Green on Tuesday night.
The Hilltoppers lost their game against Prairie View A&M on Thursday in Louisville because of COVID-19 issues with the Prairie View program.
THE KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH – WHEN IT COMES TO TOBACCO, QUITTERS ALWAYS WIN
WKU is actively working to adjust its non-conference schedule and will share updates as soon as they're available.
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