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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
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.
