BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball had to overcome two missing starters and a record 3-point shooting night from Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, outlasting the Colonels 85-80 for a fourth straight win at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers (5-3) were without leading scorer senior forward Jairus Hamilton, who missed the game with a back injury. They were also still without fifth-year senior guard Josh Anderson due to COVID-19 protocols.
On top of that, Eastern Kentucky (5-4) set new Diddle Arena records with both 18 made 3-pointers and 51 attempts from behind the arc.
"Give Eastern Kentucky a lot of credit," WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "They're well-coached, they've got a really good basketball team and they played extremely well tonight. Any time you go on the road and make 18 3s, you're going to win most nights. Give them a lot of credit, they're going to be a tough battle for anybody they play. … The challenge was besides them being good, we were kind of limping in here. Everybody knew Josh was out with COVID, most people didn't know that Jairus was out.
"… Real thin and not much time to work on a new lineup with a really good team coming in here. Our guys deserve a lot of credit. First off, you've got to handle their pressure, that's where it starts at. … Number two, when a team's pressuring you, you want to be able to make them pay at the end of the press and we did that really well."
To overcome that adversity, WKU shot 51.8% from the field, made 20 of 26 free throws and committed just 12 turnovers against the Colonels' unrelenting press.
Sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight scored a game-high 22 points, while graduate senior guard Camron Justice added 18 points and six assists.
Junior center Jamarion Sharp scored 17 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds and four blocks.
Redshirt senior guard Luke Frampton added 13 points and three made 3s, while sophomore guard Sherman Brashear also had 13 points and seven rebounds in his first career start.
"We just had to stay together as a team," McKnight said. "We needed everybody to step up. Just one more step, play as hard as they can and hopefully we were going to come out with a dub."
A 7-0 run by WKU late in the first half dug the Hilltoppers out of an early hole and gave them a 39-38 halftime lead.
Eastern Kentucky countered with an 8-0 run early in the second half, including two of Cooper Robb's seven 3-pointers.
WKU eventually led by as much eight at 63-55 with 10:36 to go, but the Colonels continued to whittle away, and a 3 by Jannson Williams made it 74-71 EKU with 4:19 remaining.
The Colonels' last lead came at 75-73 with 3:40 to go, before WKU responded with a basket by McKnight and a dunk by Sharp.
Justice had the final go-ahead bucket with 1:42 on the clock, and he and Brashear tacked on four free throws to provide some cushion.
Robb scored 21 points to pace Eastern Kentucky. The Tops have now won 15 of the last 17 in the series and three straight overall against their in-state foe.
WKU completes its five-game homestand against Buffalo at 7 p.m. CT Wednesday at E.A. Diddle Arena. The game will air exclusively on ESPN+.
"Honestly just talking and communication," Sharp said. "Even though we're doing good on that, we've still got to do more. There's always room for improvement and we're going to continue to work on that."
Med Center Health
The 2021-22 WKU Basketball season is proudly presented by Med Center Health. Med Center Health has served Southcentral Kentucky for more than 90 years, and its system of care includes six acute care hospitals, a comprehensive network of physician practices and clinics, and hundreds of area physicians offering care in dozens of specialties. From emergency treatment to preventative care, Med Center Health is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the communities it serves. Learn more at medcenterhealth.org.
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