BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU men's basketball defeated Abilene Christian, 86-84, on Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena in the team's final non-conference game of the 2023-24 season. Led by a strong second half from Tyrone Marshall Jr. and a 19-point performance to include a game-winning bucket by Khristian Lander, the Tops secured a seventh consecutive victory and improve to 11-3 on the year.
The win against the Wildcats marks the best 14-game start for the Hilltoppers since the 2001-02 season. The 11 non-conference wins is the most by WKU since 2017-18.
Marshall Jr. led the charge for WKU, going for 20 points off 8-of-12 shooting along with five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. 18 of the senior forward's 20 points came in the second half.
Lander led the team with three assists to pair with 19 points, six rebounds and a steal. Lander's late-game bucket with seven seconds remaining in regulation would prove to be the game-winner for the Hilltoppers.
In the second half, WKU scored on 20-of-33 total possessions averaging 1.27 points per possession in the frame.
After the Wildcats struck first with a deep three just under 90 seconds into the game, Babacar Faye got the Tops on the board with a pair of made free throws. After trailing midway through the first half, Brandon Newman connected on a driving layup in the paint to cut the Hilltoppers' deficit to three, 30-27, with 9:46 to play in the first.
A layup by Faye off an assist by Marshall Jr. cut the Wildcat lead to just one moments later. After ACU responded with a 2pt FG in the paint, a converted three by Newman assisted by Faye knotted the score at 32-32 and gave WKU its first tie of the game with 8:09 to play before half.
Out of the under-eight media timeout, Enoch Kalambay's first points of the day snapped a 6-0 Wildcat run and cut the ACU lead back down to just four, 38-34, with 6:02 left in the first. After trading buckets, Don McHenry made it a one possession game for WKU by converting on a driving layup with just under 30 seconds remaining in the first.
A block by Rodney Howard closed out the first half and WKU went into the locker room trailing, 47-44.
Returning for the second half of play, ACU pushed its lead to eight before a pair of made free throws by McHenry and back-to-back buckets by Kalambay cut the Wildcats' lead back down to just two with 16:14 remaining in regulation.
Trailing by two, the Tops made a defensive stand and Lander found Marshall Jr. on the other end for a three on the left wing, giving WKU its first lead of the game, 61-60, with 12:21 to play. With ACU battling back to regain a five-point lead, Lander found a wide-open Marshall Jr. for a three, igniting the home crowd and bringing the Tops' deficit back down to two, 69-67.
After connecting on a layup to tie the game at 69 apiece with just under seven minutes to play, a technical foul on ACU sent Lander to the line where he gave WKU a 70-69 lead. From down eight to up five, a layup by Faye followed by a pair of made free throws by Marshall Jr. brought the count to 74-69 in the Tops' favor and marked a 13-0 run by WKU to give the team its largest lead of the game.
Out of the media timeout, the Wildcats managed to tie the game, 78-78, with 3:21 left in regulation. WKU hit the 80-point mark with a layup by Lander, before ACU again tied the game at 80-80 with 2:30 to play.
A contested layup by McHenry gave WKU another two-point lead, 82-80, before the Wildcats knotted it back up, 82-82, with 90 seconds to play. Marshall Jr. capitalized on a second-chance bucket in the paint to give the Tops another two-point advantage, 84-82, with 49 seconds remaining. ACU hit on a pair of free throws following a drawn foul, and the game was tied, 84-84, with 35 seconds left in regulation.
With a four-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, WKU took another timeout with 29 seconds to play. Letting the clock run down to single-digits, Lander went off the glass and in to give the Hilltoppers a two-point lead, 86-84, with just seven seconds remaining in the game.
The Tops held on defense and WKU defeated Abilene Christian, 86-84, to wrap a perfect 6-0 December and improve to 11 wins on the year heading into CUSA competition. The win moves the Tops into first place in the current CUSA standings.
The Hilltoppers will open conference play with a home outing against Liberty on Saturday, Jan. 6. The Flames currently stand with a 10-4 overall mark and in second place, one slot behind WKU, in the conference standings.
The Hilltoppers' game facing Liberty is set to be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is slated for 5 p.m. CT.
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball as the team enters CUSA play. Visit wkusports.com for more information.
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