Â
Enoch Kalambay added an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double along with three assists and a steal. Babacar Faye rounded out the Hilltoppers in double figures on Sunday, registering 17 points off 6-for-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe along with nine rebounds, two steals, a pair of blocks and an assist.
Â
How It Happened
The Tops won the opening tip and Faye scored in the first 20 seconds to give WKU an early lead. After a Faye steal, McHenry connected on a two-point bucket off the break to give the Tops a 6-2 lead with 18:27 left. McHenry connected on the first made-three of the game before the Bisons responded with a three of their own heading into the first media timeout, WKU leading 9-7.Â
Â
Lipscomb continued its momentum out of the break, using a 12-0 run to take a seven-point lead, 16-9, forcing WKU into its first timeout with 12:02 until the half. With 11:41 remaining in the first, Khristian Lander was fouled and connected on one-of-two at the stripe to snap the 4:30 scoreless drought. Faye ended another five-minute streak without a field goal with a dunk at the 10:37 mark in the first half. WKU entered the under-eight media timeout trailing, 25-16.
Â
The Hilltoppers used a 12-0 run combined with a five-minute scoreless drought by the Bisons to retake the lead, 26-25, at the three-minute mark. Freshman Julius Thedford connected on a three to bring the count to within two points, down 25-23, before a three-pointer by Kalambay capped the run and gave the Tops a 26-25 advantage and forced a Lipscomb timeout with under-three to play in the first.
Â
Lipscomb regained the lead with a jam before a made jumper by Braxton Bayless gave the lead back to WKU, 28-27, with 2:08 to play in the first. WKU headed to the locker room at the break trailing, 31-30.Â
Â
McHenry connected on the first points of the second half with a made three from the wing to regain a 33-31 lead in favor of the Tops. Driving to the basket, McHenry connected and pushed his point-total to 16, extending the WKU lead to four.
Â
Jackson lodged his first steal and found Marshall Jr. on the other end for the slam in transition, pushing the lead out to five, 40-35, with 13:45 left in the game. At that point, WKU had managed nine total steals for the game.Â
Â
With WKU leading, 42-39, Lipscomb used a 7-0 run to regain the lead and force the Hilltoppers to take a timeout with 9:04 remaining in regulation. Faye ended the run with a bank, assisted by Kalambay. McHenry then faked a defender and connected on a three from the left wing to give the Tops a 47-46 lead with 7:50 left in the game. The Bisons responded before Kalambay connected on the and one to give WKU a 50-48 lead with just over seven minutes left in regulation.
Â
On the other end, WKU's defense forced Lipscomb into its 12th turnover of the game. With 5:13 remaining, Faye connected from the post, pushing the Hilltopper lead to seven and forcing Lipscomb to take a timeout. The Bisons knocked down a three, but Faye found Thedford down low for the two to give the Tops a 57-51 lead with 4:25 remaining.
Â
Faye was fouled on his way up heading into the final break of the game, connecting on one-of-two before another drawn foul by Thedford put the freshman at the stripe. Thedford knocked down both to extend the WKU lead to seven, 60-53, with 3:28 remaining in regulation
Â
With 2:27 left, Lipscomb called a timeout after cutting the lead down to five with a fastbreak layup. A Bisons three then cut the deficit to one possession with less than two minutes to play. Kalambay pushed the Hilltopper lead back out to four with a made floater before a foul on the other end sent Lipscomb to the line with 33 seconds left in the game.Â
Â
Lipscomb connected on the front end of the 1&1 but missed the second attempt as Faye grabbed the board and McHenry went coast-to-coast off the missed free throw, connecting on the driving layup and giving WKU a 64-59 lead with 27 seconds to play.Â
Â
Lipscomb connected on one last two-pointer on the other end before Faye was fouled on the floor with 10 seconds left and hit both at the stripe to push the WKU lead to five. A pair of Bisons' threes were off the mark and WKU secured its second win of the year by a final count of 66-61.
Â
Notables
- The Hilltoppers are now 2-1 all-time against the Bisons. The team improves to 1-0 all-time when facing Lipscomb in Diddle Arena. The win marks WKU's first over the Bisons since 1936.
- Don McHenry led all scorers with 21 points, connecting on 9-for-19 from the field. He added 2 steals and a rebound in 26 minutes of action.
- Enoch Kalambay got his first double-double of the season, going for 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Quebec native also charted three assists and a steal.
- Babacar Faye was the games second-leading scorer with 17 points off 6-for-10 shooting and 5-of-6 at the stripe. Faye was one rebound shy of a double-double, grabbing nine boards along with two steals and a season-high two blocks.
- As a team, WKU forced Lipscomb into 13 turnovers, nine of those being steals.Â
- The Hilltoppers held the Bisons to just a 34.8% field goal clip, allowing just five made threes. The Hilltoppers have now allowed five or fewer threes in two of their four games.
Hilltopper Basketball continues its three-game home stand hosting Jackson State on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is slated for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ set to stream the matchup.
Â
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) and visit wkusports.com for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball as the team continues its 2024-25 campaign.
Â
Â
