BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – WKU Hilltopper Basketball closed out its exhibition slate with a thrilling 78-76 win over UAB on Wednesday night in Bartow Arena.
After UAB tied the game in the final seconds, LJ Hackman delivered the deciding bucket on a driving layup with eight seconds remaining, then sealed the win by blocking the Blazers' last-second shot attempt.
The game featured several lead changes and momentum swings, but the Hilltoppers held control for much of the second half. Teagan Moore paced WKU with 26 points, while Hackman and Terrion Murdix added key buckets down the stretch to help earn the win for WKU.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Bryant Selebangue and Blaise Keita each scored four points early, but a 3-pointer gave UAB a 9-8 lead with 16:10 remaining in the first half.
- A 5-0 run by the Blazers pushed their lead to six, but WKU answered with an 11-2 run to take a 20-18 lead with 10:04 left in the half. Teagan Moore scored seven of those 11 points, shooting 3-for-4.
- The Hilltoppers extended their lead to double digits, 30-20, after Cam Haffner hit a 3-pointer and Moore added four more points.
- UAB responded with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 30-27 with 4:43 remaining in the half.
- Moore continued his hot shooting, scoring six of WKU's final seven points before the buzzer, but a last-second layup by UAB trimmed the lead to 37-32 going into the half.
- WKU maintained its lead through the first five minutes of the second half. Terrion Murdix pushed the Hilltoppers ahead 47-44 with 13:50 left after making a pair of free throws.
- UAB went on a 9-1 run to retake and extend its lead to 53-49 with 13:50 left in the game.
- Over the next two minutes, the lead changed hands three times. Leeroy Odiahi's dunk and a Haffner 3-pointer put WKU up 57-55 with just under 12 minutes remaining. The Hilltoppers held the lead most of the rest of the way, extending it to 72-65 with 5:10 left following a Moore 3-pointer and a fastbreak layup by Armelo Boone.
- UAB rallied with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 76-76, including a crucial 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining.
- With eight seconds left, LJ Hackman scored the go-ahead layup and then blocked a halfcourt buzzer-beater attempt, sealing a 78-76 exhibition victory for WKU.
NOTABLES
- WKU improves to 2-0 in exhibition play with the win. This game does not count towards WKU's 2025-26 record.
- WKU's starting lineup was Jack Edelen, LJ Hackman, Teagan Moore, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita.
- Announced attendance for the exhibition was 2,012.
- Teagan Moore was WKU's leading scorer with 26 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes. He was 8-of-11 from the floor and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe with a plus/minus of +17. If this game was not an exhibition, Moore would've set career-highs in points and field goals made while tying career-highs in 3-point field goals made and minutes played.
- LJ Hackman finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two steals and one block. Hackman has scored in double digits in both exhibitions.
- Bryant Selebangue posted nine boards while contributing six points on 3-of-6 shooting and one block.
- Grant Newell chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
- Armelo Boone impacted the defensive side of the floor, recording four steals and two blocks. The freshman added four points and two rebounds as well.
- Cam Haffner hit a couple of 3-pointers, shooting 2-of-6 from behind the arc.
- Terrion Murdix scored six points while grabbing three boards.
- WKU shot 40.0% from the field, hitting 28-of-70 attempts.
- The Hilltoppers outscored the Blazers 44-30 in the paint.
- WKU held UAB to just 37.0% shooting from the floor.
- The Hilltoppers won the rebounding battle, 52-49.
- WKU led for 27:49 while UAB led for just 9:32.
QUOTABLES
- "I didn't score all of those points tonight, so it sure helped having this guy [Teagan Moore] back. When he doesn't play for a year, you never want to look yourself in the eye and say, 'well, we planned on having Teagan and didn't have him,' but I think we learned what we already knew and that he makes a huge impact. Obviously, he's been a great, consistent, day-to-day guy as we put a new team together and obviously it was his night to score some points in the first half and we have a team with different guys who can score, but Teagan has set a great example from the start. It was good to come down here and hopefully we can learn a little bit from a game like this." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, on the exhibition win over UAB.
- "Just getting to my spots. We had really good spacing that allowed me to get to my driving angles. It allowed me to do what I love to do and that's get downhill." — Guard Teagan Moore, on the exhibition win over UAB.
NEXT UP
- The Hilltoppers will open the 2025-26 season on Nov. 3 at home against Tennessee Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT at E.A. Diddle Arena and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets to the game can be purchased HERE.
How to follow WKU Hilltopper Basketball: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUBasketball on Instagram and X.
