Second-Half Spark Lifts Hilltoppers to Exhibition Victory

Saturday, November 5

Bowling Green, Ky.

3 p.m.

Western Kentucky University

Georgetown College (Ky.) (EXH)

Photo by: Evan Brown/WKU Athletics

11/5/2022 5:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score HC Rick Stansbury Postgame Media Dontaie Allen/Luke Frampton Postgame Media Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After being tied 38-38 with Georgetown at halftime, WKU Hilltopper Basketball used a second-half spark to wear down the Tigers and eventually defeat them 88-68 on Saturday afternoon in E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU finished out the game on a 29-5 run over the last 10-plus minutes to carve out the 20-point exhibition victory.

"Overall, you all have heard me say this many times," said head coach Rick Stansbury. "The key to your team is 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. How those guys come in and add to. When you've got guys that come off your bench and add to like ours, that's going to help your team in the long run."

Sixth year senior Luke Frampton started the game with the hot hand, scoring WKU's first nine points with three 3-pointers. Jordan Rawls capped the hot streak with a layup, putting WKU ahead 11-4 4:18 into the game.

The Tigers scored seven straight points to tie it up at 13-all and WKU responded with an 8-0 run of its own. Khristian Lander and Dontaie Allen combined to score the eight points between 11:46 and 10:29, giving WKU a lead of 21-13.

Georgetown used an 11-2 run to take a one-point lead of 26-25 before WKU quickly retook the lead with a layup. The teams went back and forth the remainder of the half to land on a 38-38 tie entering halftime.

While WKU scored the first points of the second half with a 3-pointer from Jairus Hamilton, the Tigers immediately took their first lead of the game, answering with back-to-back 3-pointers from Drew LaMont. The Hilltoppers scrambled to put up six straight points before Georgetown fought back with a 10-3 lead to go up four points with 14:05 on the clock.

The Hilltoppers had subbed in Lander, Allen, Fallou Diagne and Tyrone Marshall around the 14:29 mark. After giving up six points, the five-man crew started to chip away at the Tigers' 54-50 lead.

"You know, I thought one of the keys to game was probably the second half," said Stansbury. "Over 40 minutes, I thought we wore them down. I thought that second bunch came in, probably played six to seven minutes straight. I don't know what the difference was in score but they separated the score. They brought great energy."

The lead exchanged hands a few times before Lander and Allen knocked down another pair of 3's. WKU added on to the new lead with two steal-and-scores between Marshall and Rawls. By the time that five-man lineup subbed out at the 6:05 mark, they had flipped the script and put the Tops up 77-65.

"That second group from the like the 15 to 10-minute mark in the second half just gave us some energy," said Frampton. "We got up 10 and then it was wrapped from there."

WKU held the Tigers to just two field goals in the final 10-plus minutes of the game, one of those buckets coming at the 1:01 mark. The Tops ended the entire game on a 29-5 run, spanning 10:24 on the clock.

"I think the biggest thing is that all of us crowded around each other and we decided 'You know what, we're going to fight and we're not going to give up'", said Allen. "I think that's the core thing of that, we just fought and didn't give up."

WKU's bench outscored the Tigers' 37-10. The Hilltoppers scored 24 points off of Georgetown turnovers, with 16 of those coming in the latter half.

Allen led WKU in scoring with 18 points. The birthday boy shot 5 of 9 from the floor, netting three long balls in 18 minutes of action.

Hamilton added 17 points and six boards for the team while making both of his 3-point attempts.

Rawls had seven assists to zero turnovers in the second half and had an 8-1 ratio for the entire game.

Georgetown's LaMont led the Tigers in scoring with 20 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. He also pulled down seven rebounds.

After two tune-ups, WKU will finally take the floor for its season opener against Eastern Kentucky in Richmond on Thursday evening. The game tips off at 6 p.m. CT and will stream on ESPN+.