Julius Thedford posted a career day, leading the way for WKU with 19 points including a 4-for-5 mark from beyond the arc. Tyrone Marshall Jr. followed, going for 18 points along with five rebounds and two blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
WKU forced a turnover on Marshall's first possession before Marshall Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws to open scoring for WKU. Don McHenry later turned defense into offense with a steal and slam, forcing the Herd to call a timeout with 17:29 until the half. Thedford scratched the scoring column with a made floater from the free throw line and followed with a triple from the right wing, extending the WKU lead to 9-0. Marshall connected on its first field goal at the 15:10 mark of the first and the teams entered the under-16 media timeout with WKU leading, 9-2.
The Herd then rolled off a 6-0 run to bring them within one possession of WKU, forcing the Hilltoppers into a timeout, leading 11-8. Marshall Jr. managed a defensive board and McHenry found Babacar Faye up high for a slam in transition.
Up three, Thedford nailed a baseline floater in front of the Marshall bench to extend WKU's lead to five, 21-16, with 7:48 left in the half.
After knocking down back-to-back threes on two possessions and following it up with another from deep, the Herd took a five-point lead, 27-22, forcing WKU into its second timeout with 5:16 until the half. A jumper from Braxton Bayless snapped the scoreless streak and brought WKU back within one possession. On the next set, Thedford rattled in a three pushing him into double figures and knotting the count at 27-all.
After Marshall's fifth three of the night, the Tops ran in transition with Faye all alone on the other end for the one-handed jam. The Herd would hit a pair of threes before the half and the teams entered the break with WKU trailing, 40-36.
Bayless fed Faye in transition for the first points of the second half before Marshall responded with a made bucket to keep it at a four-point margin. After trading baskets, Jalen Jackson went spin cycle to the rack for a made two-pointer and then drove into the paint on the next possession, kicking it out to Marshall Jr. for a made three-pointer to reclaim a one-point lead for WKU, 49-48, with 15:44 remaining in regulation.
Leading by three, Jackson found Thedford in the left corner for the freshman's fourth three of the night. Marshall Jr. charted a seventh WKU steal and ignited the home faithful with a slam, pushing the Tops' lead to eight, 56-48, and forcing the Herd to take a timeout with 14:13 left in the game. Marshall snapped its 3:52 scoreless streak with a made free throw, ending a 16-0 run for WKU. The Tops managed three steals in the run.
The Herd managed a 12-0 run to cut it to a one-point game, 62-61. Marshall Jr. put an end to the Tops' scoring drought with a made layup to put the Tops ahead by three with 9:19 remaining.
The Herd then reclaimed the lead with a floater from the baseline, taking the one point, 67-66 lead into the under-eight timeout. Getting a defensive stop, WKU went the other way and Marshall Jr. lined up a three from the wing and connected to give WKU a 69-67 lead with 6:42 left in the game.
WKU again bowed up on the defensive end and forced a Marshall miss late in the shot clock. Taking the ball the other way, Lander was fouled and connected on both free throws. Jackson then got fouled after the second free throw, sending him to the line, up 75-71 with 5:08 left.
Faye then took on two defenders, converting in the paint to give WKU a six-point lead. Faye secured the defensive board and again connected in the paint to extend the WKU lead to eight. WKU fouled the Herd on the other end, taking the 80-72 lead into the final media timeout with 2:21 left to play in regulation.
Up four, Jackson drove to his right, drawing contact and connecting off the glass for the and one to extend WKU's lead to 83-76 with just over a minute remaining. With 38.4 seconds left, McHenry hit a pair of crucial free throws to give WKU an 85-80 lead.
With 15.7 left, the Herd hit a pair at the stripe to cut the WKU lead to four. McHenry was once again fouled and connected on both, pushing the Hilltopper lead back to 88-82.
Lander would connect on a pair of free throws to bring the count to 90-82 in the Tops' favor, and WKU secured its eighth-straight win over the Thundering Herd. The win improves the Hilltoppers' record to 4-3 on the season.
NOTABLES
- WKU now holds a 23-12 all-time advantage in its series facing the Thundering Herd following the win. The Hilltoppers are 13-2 in home games against the Herd, with Saturday's win serving as the eighth straight in the rivalry dating back to 1944.
- The Tops used the lineup of Bayless, McHenry, Faye, Kalambay and Marshall Jr. The group is now 1-0 this season. This marks the sixth different starting lineup for WKU this season.
- Julius Thedford led WKU with a career-high 19 points off the bench, capped by a 4-for-5 mark from deep.
- Tyrone Marshall Jr. followed with 18 points on 6-of-9 from the field. He added a team high of two blocks in 23 minutes of action.
- Khristian Lander added 13 points while Jalen Jackson added 10 off the bench. Jackson also managed a game-high five assists.
- With the bench production, WKU is averaging 30.83 bench points per game which leads Conference USA and ranks in the top 50 nationally.
- WKU held Marshall to a .388 clip from the field which marks the second lowest of the season. Only Purdue has held the Herd to a lower mark this season (.302).
- The Hilltoppers held Marshall to a 23.3% clip from deep. The Herd managed just seven threes and finished 0-for-10 in the second half from beyond the arc.
- WKU has now held its opponent to a three-point percentage less than .300% in four of the team's seven outings this season.
QUOTABLE
"Hard-fought game against a very good opponent," head coach Hank Plona said. "Give Marshall a lot of credit, they kept fighting back, once in the first and once in the second when we got up nine or ten and just couldn't break away. They certainly caused us some struggles defensively. I thought they did a great job scoring the basketball, moving and passing. I'm very proud of our guys – we were able to battle all night and pull out a win."
"We want all our players playing at a very high level," Plona said. "I thought, in the second half, everyone that played, played well."
NEXT UP
WKU will be back in action with a road tilt at Evansville on Saturday, Dec. 7. Tipoff from Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. is slated for 1 p.m. CT 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.
