BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Hilltopper Basketball opened Conference USA competition for the 2023-24 season with a 70-68 win over Liberty in E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday. Don McHenry led the Tops in scoring with 18 points off 8-for-13 shooting, as WKU improves to 12-3 for the season with the eighth straight victory and begins conference play with a 1-0 mark.
Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between WKU and Liberty and the inaugural CUSA game for the Flames.
WKU entered the game on high-energy in front of an electric Diddle Arena crowd and struck first early, as Brandon Newman hit from three to give the Tops an early 3-0 lead less than a minute in. The teams swapped leads seven times in the first seven minutes of play, with Dontaie Allen connecting on his first bucket of the night off a layup in the paint to even the count at 9-9 with 13:41 to play in the first.
McHenry found his stroke early and accounted for a pair of two-point buckets, each to reclaim the lead for WKU. Up 11-9, Liberty managed back-to-back FGs in the paint to go ahead 13-11 in the game, before a layup by Khristian Lander knotted the game back up at 13 apiece.
Following a 5-0 Liberty run, Allen hit from range to cut into the Flames lead with 10:55 left in the half. Down 18-16, Enoch Kalambay again evened the count at 18-18 with his first bucket of the night at the 8:17 mark in the first.
After falling behind 25-20, Tyrone Marshall Jr. and McHenry connected for an alleyoop to give Marshall Jr. his first points of the evening and cut the Tops' deficit back down to three. A pull-up jumper made by McHenry on the Tops' next possession brought the count to 25-24 in the Flames' favor.
Back-to-back threes by Liberty gave the Flames a brief seven-point advantage with 2:51 to play in the half, before a converted three by Marshall Jr. 11 seconds later made it a 31-27 count. McHenry connected on another three to cut the Flames' lead to one, then hit from outside the paint to reclaim the lead for WKU, 32-31, with 1:19 remaining in the first half.
Rodney Howard converted both on a one-and-one to extend the Tops' lead to 34-31, and Liberty responded with a 2-PT FG in the paint with 20 seconds to play in the first. WKU entered the half with a 34-33 lead.
The teams returned for the second period and opened scoring immediately, with Liberty converting on a 2-PT layup 12 seconds into play. Newman quickly responded with a made jumper to put the Tops back ahead by one, 36-35, just over a minute into the half.
The teams once again traded leads through nine minutes of second-half play, with neither team leading by more than two. A slam by Howard gave the Tops a four-point lead, 48-44, with 11:38 to play in regulation.
A pair of threes by Newman ignited the crowd and extended the WKU lead to 10 at the 8:44 mark. A layup by McHenry off a Flames turnover pushed the team's lead to 12 with just over eight minutes to play.
A three by Allen gave the Tops a 13-point lead, 65-52, with 4:42 to play and marked the largest lead of the game for either team. WKU relied heavily on its defense for the remainder of regulation, strapping for one final Flames possession and securing the 70-68 win at home.
WKU maintains first place in the CUSA standings with the conference-opening victory, now standing at 1-0 in league play and 12-3 overall.
Allen finished as the Tops' second-leading scorer with 13 points off 4-of-6 shooting to go with four rebounds. Newman and Howard each charted 11 points, with Howard posting a team-high nine rebounds and Newman following with a total of seven.
Marshall Jr. tallied eight points, five rebounds, one assist and a block. Lander led the team in assists with five.
The matchup saw a total of 14 lead changes and seven ties. WKU found a total of 29 points from its bench while limiting the Flames' bench to just 12 points.
With the win, the Hilltoppers have now reeled off eight consecutive wins dating back to Nov. 29.
WKU continues its conference campaign next week with a road matchup against Sam Houston on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with ESPN+ set to broadcast.
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball. Visit wkusports.com for more information.
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