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Lander posted a career-high 28 points to lead all scorers while shooting 11-for-15 from the field with a 4-of-6 mark from beyond the arc and a team-best three assists. Don McHenry added 20 points off the bench for WKU, marking the ninth time this season the senior has scored 20-or-more points. Tyrone Marshall Jr. led the effort on the boards, securing a game-high eight rebounds and four steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams tipped off the Thursday night outing with WKU unable to scratch the scoring column until the 17:07 mark of the first period. Enoch Kalambay connected on a driving layup to open scoring for the Tops and bring the count to 5-2. Braxton Bayless found McHenry in the right corner to even the score at five, then Bayless fed Lander on the next possession in the opposite corner for WKU's first lead of the game with 15:33 until the break.
Securing a third steal for WKU, Marshall Jr. jammed one in transition to give the Tops a 13-11 lead with 11:36 to play in the first. Bayless then went up and around and hit to extend the Hilltopper lead to four, 15-11, with 11:04 to go until the break. A Jalen Jackson assist allowed Bayless to score again with another driving layup. UTEP would respond with a three to pull within one, WKU leading 17-16, with 9:11 left in the half.
Out of the break UTEP took the lead back, but Lander navigated through traffic and connected on a layup to cut the Tops deficit to one, 20-19, with 7:27 to play in the half. Jack Edelen made an acrobatic pass finding Lander on the wing for the triple to put WKU ahead, 24-23. UTEP countered by taking a four-point lead before Lander pushed his total to 12 points, weaving through defenders and making it a one possession game with 3:21 remaining in the half. The Hilltoppers managed a second offensive board and McHenry connected on a fadeaway three from the corner to tie things up at 30-all.
On the next possession, Lander found a cutting Leeroy Odiahi high above the rim for the slam to give WKU the lead. Tied again at 32, Jackson pulled up from the block connecting on his first basket of the game with 32 seconds left in the half. A missed UTEP free throw with three seconds left gave the Tops one more chance before the break. Marshall's halfcourt heave would be off the mark and WKU held a 34-32 lead at the half.
Marshall Jr. fed Lander in the left corner for a three to start second half action giving WKU its largest lead of the game to that point, 37-32. On the next possession, Keita grabbed the offensive board and connected with Lander for another from deep. Kalambay then grabbed a rebound on the other end and found Marshall who fed Jackson in transition to give the Tops a nine-point, 42-33 lead forcing UTEP into a timeout at the 18:30 mark of the second.
UTEP cut the lead down to four, but a Kalambay three in front of the WKU bench extended the lead back out to seven with 15:44 to play. The Miners would then make it a one possession game before Marshall took one to the rack in transition with 12:42 to play. UTEP then used a quick 9-0 run to take a 59-54 lead with 9:17 remaining.
Taking a timeout, WKU converted on the next possession as Keita found a wide open Kalambay on the block to snap the drought. A stop followed by a Lander bank brought the margin to one with 8:28 remaining. WKU forced UTEP into a 13th turnover on the next possession and out of the under eight timeout Lander hit on a tightly contested jumper to put WKU back in front, 60-59, with 7:39 to play in the game.
The two went back and forth as the Hilltoppers managed to pull ahead by as many as three, but a Miner three evened things at 64-all to mark the eighth tie of the game. With 4:05 to play in regulation, a pair of McHenry free throws broke the tie giving WKU a 66-64 edge.
UTEP would respond with a pair from the stripe followed up by a steal and bucket to take the lead back, 68-66. McHenry then took one through contact for the lay, again evening things at 68. A stop followed by a Lander lay-in gave WKU the lead back, 70-68, with two minutes to play. WKU would then record its seventh steal which led to another Lander bucket, but the Miners would again make it a one possession game with 1:21 remaining. With 1:01 to play, McHenry was fouled on his way up to the rack and connected, converting the conventional three to give the Tops a four-point, 75-71 lead.
With 55 seconds left in the game, Marshall Jr. would get his fourth steal of the night giving WKU possession, up 75-71. The Tops came up empty and a scrum for the ball of a missed shot would give UTEP possession with 26.8 remaining. A Miner shot attempt was off the mark, and Marshall Jr. secured the board and was fouled with 18.6 left. A miss on the front end gave the Miners possession, but a called timeout with none remaining sent McHenry to the stripe. McHenry connected on one-of-two to push the WKU lead out to five, 76-71, with 14.9 left in regulation.
UTEP connected on a bucket on the other end, and one, to make it a two-point game. Smart passing from Lander would find an open Marshall for a lay-in as the final shot from UTEP was short and the Tops would secure the 78-74 win over CUSA league-leader UTEP.
NOTABLES
- WKU used the starting lineup of Keita, Jackson, Lander, Kalambay and Marshall Jr. for the second consecutive game. The group is now 2-0.
- In the first half, the Hilltoppers connected on 13-of-26 shots while the Miners connected on 10-of-28. In the second half, WKU improved its shooting, clipping 17-of-28 (.607%) for a game mark of .556% (30-of-54).
- Khristian Lander's career-high 28 points led all scorers coming from an 11-of-15 night from the field. He added three assists, two rebounds and a steal in 32 minutes of action. This is the second consecutive game the graduate senior has charted double figures.
- Don McHenry followed in the scoring column with 20 points. The senior added three rebounds in 29 minutes off of the bench.
- Leeroy Odiahi matched a career-high in minutes with 23. He had a team-best three blocks along with three rebounds and two points. His three blocks tie a season best set on Jan. 9 against Jax State.
- Tyrone Marshall Jr. stuffed the stat sheet charting eight points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. His four steals match a career high set on Jan. 18 of last season against New Mexico State.
- Enoch Kalambay was the third Hilltopper to record double figures with 10 points. He added six rebounds, an assist and a steal in 29 minutes of action.
- WKU forced UTEP into 17 turnovers, eight of which were steals. This marks the most turnovers forced by an opponent in CUSA play and the most for UTEP since Dec. 28, 2024.
- WKU managed 14 assists compared to 18 turnovers. This is the sixth time this season WKU has won despite having a negative assist to turnover ratio.
- WKU improves to an even 4-4 in CUSA play. Eight of the CUSA's 10 teams currently hold a 4-4 mark or better.
WKU returns to action and opens its February slate hosting New Mexico State on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed live 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.
