First Half Surge Propels Tops to 85-69 Victory Over Kennesaw State

Saturday, January 11

Bowling Green, Ky.

2 p.m.

Western Kentucky University

11-6,2-2CUSA

Kennesaw State

9-7,1-2CUSA

Kennesaw St.

Western Ky.

First Half Surge Propels Tops to 85-69 Victory Over Kennesaw State

1/11/2025 5:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)HC Hank Plona Postgame Presser Tyrone Marshall Jr. & Enoch Kalambay Postgame Presser Photo Gallery

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU men's basketball secured an 85-69 victory over Kennesaw State on Saturday afternoon in Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers improve to 11-6 overall with a 2-2 mark in CUSA with the win.

Tyrone Marshall Jr. led the way for WKU in the scoring column, logging 20 points along with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Enoch Kalambay notched double-figures for a second consecutive game, charting 19 points highlighted by a 50-percent (6-for-12) shooting clip from the field with eight rebounds and three assists.

Four Hilltoppers finished in double figures scoring in total, with Don McHenry charting 15 points along with five boards, one steal and a game-high three blocks, and Khristian Lander rounding out the bunch with 14 points off 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Marshall Jr. opened scoring for the Tops with a conventional three-pointer to tie things at three-all with 18:28 left in the first. After another KSU bucket, Marshall connected again on a three-pointer to take a 6-5 lead two minutes in. WKU forced a turnover and Marshall found Braxton Bayless in front of the KSU bench for the team's second three of the day to give the Tops a four-point, 9-5 lead.

Coming off the bench, freshman Julius Thedford made an immediate impact knocking down a long-range three to give WKU a 13-7 lead with 13:57 until the half. The Tops followed that up with a defensive stand, and Jalen Jackson found Kalambay in transition for another three to give WKU a nine-point lead, 16-7, with 13:12 remaining until the half.

After a KSU timeout, WKU forced the Owls into a shot-clock violation out of the break to mark a third forced turnover for the game. After a KSU bucket, WKU used a 12-0 run that included three forced turnovers to take a 28-9 lead with 7:58 left to play in the first

After a KSU basket to cut the Owls' scoring drought, WKU would score on the next two possessions to take a 21-point, 33-12 lead over the Owls. A quick 5-0 run by KSU forced the Tops to take a timeout leading, 33-17, with 5:07 left until the break. Marshall Jr. connected from beyond the arc to push the WKU lead back out to 14, 38-24, with 2:01 until the half.

A made jumper by Jackson pushed WKU to 40 points, and the Tops went into the locker room at the half with a 15-point, 40-25 lead.

Up a dozen in the second, Jackson stripped one away and found Marshall Jr. in transition down under for the first WKU points of the half, leading 42-28 at the 17:52 mark. The Owls would cut the lead down to single digits, but on the next possession Marshall Jr. was fouled on his way up and connected, converting the three-point play and putting WKU ahead, 48-36, with 14:21 left.

The Owls cut the margin to seven, but Kalambay found Lander in the corner for a three to put WKU up 13, 54-41, with 11:44 remaining. Out of the media break, Jackson fed Kalambay for his second three of the day for a 57-43 lead.

KSU would cut the WKU lead back down to nine, 64-55, with a made free throw, but Lander would counter on the other end with a second-chance tip-in to put WKU up 11 with 6:42 left in regulation.

Marshall Jr. fed McHenry in the left corner for a three, pushing McHenry into double figures and putting the Tops up by 12, 73-61, with 4:20 left in the game. WKU would hold the Owls scoreless for the next two minutes before KSU hit a pair at the line to make it a 75-63 Hilltopper lead with 2:07 left to play.
With just over a minute remaining in the game, Lander would get fouled and convert on a three-point play to give WKU a 15-point cushion. The Tops maintained the lead and secured the 85-69 home conference win over Kennesaw State.

NOTABLES

WKU used the lineup of McHenry, Jackson, Lander, Odiahi and Marshall Jr. for the first time this season. The group is now 1-0. This marks the fourth different lineup the Hilltoppers have used in as many games.
WKU went on a 19-2 run that lasted from the 15:39 until the 7:41 mark in the first half. In the run, WKU forced KSU into seven turnovers while connecting on four threes.
Tyrone Marshall Jr. led WKU in the scoring column, going for 20 points including a 3-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. He added three assists and a game-best three steals in 32 minutes.
Enoch Kalambay added 19 points to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. The guard also dished out three assists in 28 minutes.
The Hilltoppers held the Owls to a .329 mark from the field and a .195 mark from beyond the arc as the Owls hit just 8-of-41 threes. This is the third-lowest mark for the Owls all season from deep.
As a team, WKU managed 14 assists with three different players dishing out three apiece. For the game, the Tops held an assist-to-turnover margin of +1.27, only losing the ball 11 times.
Of the 12 turnovers the Hilltoppers forced, eight of those were steals. WKU has now had eight or more steals in 12 games this season.

NEXT UP
WKU enters a three-game stretch on the road beginning with a trip to rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tipoff from Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. is slated for 6 p.m. CT and is set to be streamed on ESPN+.

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.