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HOW IT HAPPENED
Jalen Jackson fed Don McHenry for a three from the left side to open scoring ninety seconds into the game. The Hilltoppers struggled shooting in the early minutes of the game, charting a 30-percent shooting clip for the first four minutes of play.
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Out of the break, Jack Edelen found Lander on a baseline inbounds pass for the layup, putting WKU ahead 9-7 with 15:21 remaining in the first. Lander followed that up later with a triple from the top of the key, then later another three, pushing his point total to eight with 13:37 left in the half.Â
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Babacar Faye found the hot-hand again as Lander connected on his third triple of the half, this time from the right wing. WKU went into the under-12 timeout on an 8-0 run, leading 21-13. At the 8:10 mark of the first, Lander lined up his fifth three-point attempt and connected, pushing his point total to 14 and forcing the Tigers to call timeout with WKU leading 29-20 with 8:08 until the break.
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Nebraska transfer Blaise Keita scored his first points as a Hilltopper with a post move and bank-in. Freshman Julius Thedford followed that up with his first points of the game, a three, pushing the lead out to a dozen, 34-22. Thedford bottomed a three in front of the Tiger bench, the seventh for WKU, to extend the Hilltopper lead to 15, 37-22, with 5:48 till the break.Â
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With just over four minutes until the half, Tyrone Marshall Jr. drove through the lane for the hoop and harm, converting the free throw and pushing the WKU lead back out to 15, 40-25. Marshall Jr. buried a three of his own as Enoch Kalambay found him on the left wing, extending the WKU lead to 16, 45-29 with 1:27 left in the half.
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Lander connected on a euro step to the basket, sending the teams into the locker room with the Tops leading, 49-32.Â
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McHenry was the first Hilltopper to scratch the scoring column in the second half with a layup off the break. Faye registered a block and turned the defense into offense, connecting on a three from the top of the key and putting the Tops up by 22 with 17:52 left in the game.
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A Tiger three brought the margin back under 20 with 13:58, WKU leading 62-43. Back-to-back threes by the Tigers cut the WKU lead down to 62-49, forcing the Tops to take their first timeout with 12:59 left in regulation.
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Out of the timeout, Marshall Jr. found Thedford in front of the Tops bench to push the lead back out to 16. With the three, Thedford became the fourth Hilltopper to reach double figures. At the midway point of the second half, Faye jumped in front of a pass and took it cross-court for the jam to put WKU up 69-55. Marshall Jr. fed Thedford again from the left wing, and Kalambay again found the freshman on the next possession out of transition, pulling the Hilltoppers ahead by 20, 76-55.
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Leeroy Odiahi became the 10th Hilltopper in the scoring column with a two-handed jam over a Tiger defender. Jack Edelen connected on the Tops 13th made three of the night, putting WKU up 87-66 with 5:16 remaining.Â
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Jackson found Edelen in transition, knocking down the three in front of the Hilltopper bench as WKU held a 95-71 lead going into the under-four media timeout. The assist marked the eighth of the night for Jackson.Â
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Tyler Olden connected on the Tops' 16th and final three of the night, igniting the crowd and putting a stamp on the 104-76 win over Campbellsville.
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NOTABLES
- Khristian Lander had a career night, going for 23 points off 9-for-13 shooting from the field to lead the Tops in scoring. He added two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 23 minutes off the bench.
- WKU finished the night with 16 made threes, shooting from deep at a 50% clip. Seven different Hilltoppers connected on at least one three.
- The Tops' 16 threes mark the most since they hit 19 in a 127-61 win over Kentucky State on Nov. 12, 2022.
- Freshman Julius Thedford continued to impress in his debut season on The Hill, going for 16 points highlighted by a 5-of-7 three-point mark. He added three rebounds and two assists in his 18 minutes of playing time.
- Tyrone Marshall Jr. shot the ball at a 50% clip, going for 12 points along with a team-best three steals. Marshall also dished out five assists in 23 minutes of play.
- Jalen Jackson embraced the role of floor general, dishing out a career-high eight assists to go along with two steals and two points in 18 minutes of action.
- As a team, the Hilltoppers dished out a total of 27 assists, marking the most in a single game since WKU's win over Kentucky State in 2022
- WKU ended the game with an assist-to-turnover ratio of +5.4, as the Hilltoppers committed just five turnovers.
- The five team turnovers are the fewest since an 81-74 win over UTSA on Feb. 2, 2023 in which they committed just four. Last season, WKU had fewer than 10 turnovers on just two occasions.
- In the first half, the Hilltoppers shot the long ball at a resounding 53.3% clip, hitting 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. In total, four Hilltoppers knocked down a three with Lander contributing half of them.
- Bench contribution was key in the win as WKU managed 66 of its 104 points from the bench. Lander, Thedford, and Marshall Jr. combined for a total of 51 points.
- Five Hilltoppers (Lander, Thedford, Marshall, Faye and Kalambay) charted double-digit point totals in the win.
- With the win, WKU improves to 8-0 all-time against Campbellsville, with a 7-0 mark in Diddle Arena.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Hank Plona on the team's first win of the season: "Good to get a win," Plona said. "Not sure last Monday night we played well enough to beat a Wichita State team that's very good. On Saturday at Grand Canyon, we played well enough for most of that game to beat a GCU team that's very good, and obviously that left a tough taste in our mouth. It was good to get back on the floor a couple days later and, certainly on the offensive side, to play pretty well, build some confidence, get a win and start building some momentum for what could be a special season for us."
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On the team going forward: "I've been focused on making sure our team improves and gets better, and I feel we have improved through it all," Plona said. "The point of the game is to win, and at the same time we are trying to improve to the point where we can win in February and win in March."
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NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers continue the 2024-25 season hosting Lipscomb on Sunday, Nov. 17. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is slated for 2 p.m. CT with ESPN+ set to stream the matchup.
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For information on tickets for the 2024-25 season, visit wkusports.com/tickets or call the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIGRED. Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) and visit wkusports.com for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball.
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