BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball utilized a deep bench Tuesday against Tennessee Tech, rolling to an 88-68 victory in the non-conference finale at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The win was the fifth straight for WKU (7-2), which is undefeated at home and off to its best start through nine games since the 2012-13 season.
"Coach had told us that we'll have a couple days off and he didn't want us to pack our minds with our bags," senior guard Taveion Hollingsworth said. "We just tried to stay focused for the game and come out with energy. Now everybody gets to go home and be with their family for a couple days."
The Hilltoppers were without junior center Charles Bassey, who missed the game because of back spasms stemming from an elbow in the back in Saturday's win at Alabama.
On top of that, WKU was hampered by foul trouble in the post for much of the first half, but the Tops still managed to outrebound Tennessee Tech 41-32.
WKU scored 24 points off the Golden Eagles' 15 turnovers, racked up 18 assists against nine turnovers and made 19 of 22 free throws.
The Hilltoppers also netted 9 of 24 3-pointers, sparked by redshirt junior guard Luke Frampton's 6-of-9 display from long range. Frampton finished with a game-high 22 points.
"I really just kind of get into a zone," Frampton said. "You don't know what's going on around you, but anytime you shoot it, it feel like it's going into the ocean. And I have that confidence anyway, anytime I shoot it, it feels like it's going in. Looking down and seeing I had 22, it was kind of shocking. Like Taveion said, not many people think I would go off like this, just because we have so many weapons. With CB being out, a lot of people had to step up tonight. I'm happy with the win."
Senior guard Josh Anderson added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, while sophomore guard Jordan Rawls chipped in 12 points. Hollingsworth tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
WKU raced out to a 22-6 lead at the 12:48 mark on a basket by Rawls, but then scored just six points over the next nine minutes.
Senior guard Kenny Cooper made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Hilltoppers a 36-25 halftime advantage.
They steadily built the lead to 24 late in the game, relying on the hot shooting of Frampton and a host of contributors off the bench. WKU got 32 total points from its reserves.
"What I've learned is, you never know who's up next," Hollingsworth said. "People just come out and play, you never know who's going to go off that night. I guarantee, nobody knew Luke was going to do that. We've got different weapons, every night it's somebody new, and that's what's good about us."
Jr. Clay paced Tennessee Tech (0-9) with 15 points.
The Hilltoppers are off until after the holidays, when they'll open Conference USA with a pair of back-to-back road games at Charlotte. The first of those games is set for 3 p.m. CT Friday, Jan. 1.
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
