BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball couldn't contain the hot shooting of rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday, falling 93-85 at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Blue Raiders (14-6, 5-2 Conference USA) made 15 of 26 shots from long range to hand the Hilltoppers (10-11, 2-6) their fifth straight loss.
"Give Middle Tennessee some credit," WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. "Coach had his team ready to play and we knew it wasn't going to be an easy out for us. They were playing really well, they're a good basketball team. They came off that road win at Marshall on Thursday night, and they knew coming in here, this is kind of a huge game for everybody. They were better than us. We knew it was going to be a challenge for us, not just physically but mentally too, getting back up off that floor from Thursday night's game. We left everything we had left on that floor Thursday night, physically and mentally. I didn't think any of us had quite the zap we've had."
Middle Tennessee made a blistering 8 of 14 3-pointers before the break and built a 42-37 halftime advantage despite 15 first-half points from WKU sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight.
The Blue Raiders picked up where they left off by making their first four 3s of the second half, with their lead swelling as large as 14 with 15:52 to go.
WKU battled back to cut it to five multiple times, including at 65-60 with 8:53 remaining. Middle countered that run with its own 11-2 burst.
The Tops got it to five again at 79-74 with 4:31 to play, and the Blue Raiders once again scored four straight points to end the threat.
Josh Jefferson led Middle Tennessee with 31 points on 7-of-9 3-point shooting. The Blue Raiders shot 57.4% from the field and made 16 of 17 free throws.
McKnight paced WKU with 24 points, 10 assists and five rebounds and three steals.
Fifth-year senior guard Josh Anderson scored 17 points with five steals, and senior forward Jairus Hamilton added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Graduate senior guard Camron Justice and redshirt senior guard Luke Frampton combined for 24 points with six made 3s.
The Hilltoppers return to the road next week at Charlotte at 6 p.m. CT Thursday. The game will air on ESPN+.
"It definitely hurts, you never want to lose games like this," Hamilton said. "But I think that we've still got the right mindset, still got time. We've just got to keep fighting and fighting. That's all we're going to do. We're never going to quit. We've never been quitters in our whole life so we're not going to start now."
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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