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.Â
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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.
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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.Â
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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.
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In the second half, WKU scored on 20-of-33 total possessions averaging 1.27 points per possession in the frame.
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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.Â
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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.
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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.
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A block by Rodney Howard closed out the first half and WKU went into the locker room trailing, 47-44.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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