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With the loss, the Hilltoppers fall to 3-3 on the year.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Wildcats found a lane, Don McHenry connected from deep to give WKU a 3-2 lead less than 30 seconds in. Enoch Kalambay followed with a steal and took it the other way for a made layup in transition. Blaise Keita grabbed his first points off the block, tying the game at 7-all at the 16:14 mark of the first. At the first media break, WKU trailed 9-7.
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Tightly contested, Thedford nailed a triple from the key, trimming the deficit down to three at the under-12 timeout. This capped a 7-0 scoring run for WKU after falling behind, 19-9, and brought the Tops to within three, down 19-16.
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After a 2:40 scoreless streak, Kalambay hit a pair at the stripe to snap the drought and cut into the Wildcat lead, now trailing 22-18. Down eight, Khristian Lander swiped one away for a fastbreak two to cut into the lead, 26-20. Kentucky then rattled off five-straight to take an 11-point lead and force WKU into a timeout with 5:09 until the break.
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McHenry drove through traffic and converted on a layup, snapping the Hilltopper drought and bringing the count to 33-22 with 4:26 left in the half. Trailing 41-25 with 2:27 remaining in the half, McHenry found Kalambay in transition to cut the deficit down to 13. McHenry then drew contact on his way up to the rack and hit both free throws to cut the Wildcat lead to 11, down 41-30. Thedford then connected on a two-point jumper in the paint, and one, to pull WKU to within eight points, down 41-33. Lander's three at the buzzer was off the mark, and the Hilltoppers went into the half trailing a dozen, 45-33.
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Out of the half, the Wildcats reeled off four quick points to extend the UK lead to 16 and force WKU to take a timeout.
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McHenry and Babacar Faye each recorded a basket to cut the margin back down to 12. Kalambay then got fouled driving baseline and connected on one-of-two from the line to cut the Wildcat lead to 11, 49-38, with 16:40 left in regulation. McHenry fed Tyrone Marshall Jr. in the corner who connected on the triple in front of the Hilltopper bench to cut the margin down to single digits. At the under-16 media timeout, WKU trailed, 52-41.
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Still down 11, Kalambay converted on a put-back two to pull the Tops within 57-49. After another defensive stand, Thedford drove to the rack again drawing the contact and getting the shot to fall, cutting the deficit down to seven with 11:54 remaining. Out of the timeout, Thedford connected on the and one to make it a two-possession game, down 57-51.
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With the Tops trailing by 10, Faye connected on a pair of free throws to make it an eight-point game. The Wildcats then grabbed five quick points before a Kentucky triple pushed the Tops' deficit to 14, 69-55, with less than nine minutes to play in regulation.
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With 3:27 remaining in the game, Thedford crashed the boards and was fouled on the way up, connecting on one-of-two at the line to bring the count to 79-62 in favor of the Wildcats. With just over a minute left in the game, Lander found Thedford in transition for a converted layup, and one, to bring the Tops' total to 67.Â
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Jalen Jackson would hit one free throw to wrap the Tops' night scoring, and WKU fell to eighth-ranked Kentucky, 87-68.
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NOTABLES
- With Tuesday's loss, the Hilltoppers move to 2-6 all-time against the Wildcats and 1-3 in Rupp Arena.
- As a team, the Tops held Kentucky to a 27.6% clip from beyond the arc – the Wildcats' lowest percentage of the season to-date. Kentucky's 87 points marks the second fewest for the team this season.
- For the second time this season, the Hilltoppers used the starting lineup of McHenry, Lander, Faye, Kalambay and Marshall. The group is now 1-1 this season.
- Thedford's 18 points marks a season high for the freshman from Memphis. Thedford is currently the team's third-leading scorer averaging 12.5 points per game and leads the team in three-point percentage (min 5 attempts) with a .464% clip from range.
- Faye charted 16 points along with six rebounds, two steals, and a block before fouling out with 7:18 remaining. The Hilltopper big was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
- The Hilltoppers outperformed the Wildcats from the charity stripe, connecting on 75.9% (22-of-29) while Kentucky hit the foul shot at a 69% clip (29-of-42).
- The turnover margin was even as both teams committed 11 with WKU managing seven steals compared to Kentucky's five.
QUOTABLE
"Obviously we are a returning NCAA Tournament team, so we play every game to win, and Kentucky is, as I am sure most of you know, an impressive bunch," head coach Hank Plona said. "It's disappointing that we had the game to within seven there in the second half, and obviously there are some moments we thought we could have executed and completed a couple plays and hang in there a little bit more, but at the same time, all in all, I'm pleased with our fight and resilience, and pleased with our effort, approach and attitude. Obviously Kentucky shoots the ball really well, so they had a lot to do with that. But all-in-all, I'm pleased with our performance tonight and feel it's something we can use to improve and get us back to the tournament, which is our ultimate goal."
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"Basketball is a game that is connected, offense and defense," Plona said. "I thought there were a couple plays we did not complete the turn – maybe a shot didn't go our way, or we missed a shot at the rim, or maybe looked back for a foul call – and all of a sudden you don't get back on defense and they are able to run out and get some momentum. They are a very difficult team to guard. They've got four guys on the floor that can shoot at all times – at least one guy that's among the best three-point shooters in college basketball – so guarding the three-point line was certainly our main focus coming into the game. Butler, Robinson and Brea are elite shooters, I mean elite, elite shooters. Holding them to 8-of-29 from three as a team is accomplishing our goal."
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NEXT UP
Hilltopper Basketball will return home to host the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday, Nov. 30. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is slated for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
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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.
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