LYNCHBURG, Va. – WKU men's basketball wrapped the 2023-24 regular season with an 82-79 loss on the road against Liberty in Liberty Arena on Saturday. The Hilltoppers close regular-season competition with a 19-11 overall record and 8-8 mark in Conference USA play.
Saturday served as the second all-time meeting between WKU and Liberty and the second meeting between the programs this season. After previously defeating the Flames earlier in the year on Jan. 6, Saturday's loss marked a split for the teams in 2023-24.
Don McHenry opened scoring for the Tops on Saturday, connecting on a two-point floater from outside the paint just over 90 seconds into the game. The teams traded leads throughout the first five minutes of competition before WKU extended its lead to eight, its largest of the game, at the 8:30 mark of the first half.
Liberty regained a lead, 26-23, with just under six minutes remaining in the first. A converted driving layup off a fast break by Teagan Moore briefly earned the Tops the lead back, 27-26, before the Flames once again regained the lead with 3:48 to play until the half.
The teams entered halftime with Liberty ahead in the count, 36-32.
Liberty maintained its lead over the Tops for the entirety of the second half. A converted driving layup by McHenry off a turnover and one at the stripe cut the margin to just one, 60-59, with 7:32 left to play in regulation.
A three-pointer by Dontaie Allen cut the Flames' lead to three, 73-70, with less than 90 seconds remaining in the game. After Liberty extended its lead to six, 78-72, with 38 seconds to play, Allen connected on a layup in the paint to bring the count to 78-74.
A pair of drawn fouls put Liberty at the stripe twice in the final 26 seconds of play. The Flames connected on two-of-four shots at the line before Allen buried another three-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation to bring the count to 80-77. The Tops forced a turnover with five seconds to play, and McHenry converted a quick two-pointer to cut the Flames' lead to just one.
Liberty connected on both at the line following a foul by WKU to bring the count to 82-79. WKU inbounded the ball with three seconds remaining and a chance to tie with a three, but lost control as time expired, unable to get a shot off. Liberty secured the win over WKU, 82-79.
Moore led in scoring for the Tops with 16 points off 5-for-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 at the line along with a pair of assist and steals and one rebound. Enoch Kalambay led in rebounds with a total of six to go along with eight points, two assists and two steals.
Khristian Lander led the team in assists with three. Tyrone Marshall Jr. finished in double digits with 11 points off 5-for-10 shooting to pair with five rebounds, two steals, two blocks and one assist.
Hilltopper Basketball will enter the 2023-24 CUSA Basketball Championship seeded third overall for the tournament. No. 3-seeded WKU will face No. 6-seeded New Mexico State on Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. CT.
Tournament competition will take place at VBC Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala. with first-round and quarterfinal games streaming live on ESPN+, and the semifinals and championship final being broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
More information on the CUSA Championship in Huntsville will be released on Saturday evening.
Follow the team on social media (@wkubasketball) for the latest news and updates on all things Hilltopper Basketball. Visit wkusports.com for more information.
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