RICHMOND, Ky. – WKU Hilltopper Basketball moved to 2-0 with an 87-79 win over Eastern Kentucky on Monday night inside Alumni Coliseum.
Armelo Boone energized the Hilltoppers down the stretch, making play after play in the final minutes to help lead WKU to the victory over the Colonels. Boone finished with 14 points, including 12 in the second half with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Eastern Kentucky struck first, scoring on its opening possession, but WKU quickly responded with a 6-0 run to grab its first lead of the night. Grant Newell and Teagan Moore knocked down back-to-back jumpers before Moore converted a fastbreak layup. The Hilltoppers led 11-8 at the under-16 media timeout after Newell added a three-pointer and a layup.
- The Colonels used four made threes to reclaim the lead, but a Ryan Myers triple trimmed the deficit to 20-18 at the under-eight break. Moments later, Moore fueled the offense with eight of WKU's next 10 points, drilling a three-pointer and sinking a free throw to push the Hilltoppers ahead 28-26 with 5:04 left in the half.
- LJ Hackman carried WKU down the stretch, scoring six of the team's final nine first half points. He finished through contact for an and-one, hit a jumper and added a free throw to pull WKU within two, 36-34. Newell then drained his second three of the night to send the Hilltoppers into halftime with a 37-36 edge.
- The second half featured six lead changes and six ties as the teams traded baskets. After EKU evened the score at 43-43, Newell restored the WKU lead with a pair of free throws. Armelo Boone kept the offense rolling, hitting a jumper to tie it at 50-50 and another free throw to knot it again at 55-55.
- Bryant Selebangue took over midway through the period, scoring on consecutive possessions to tie things up at 65-65 with 6:45 remaining. When the Colonels went up by four, Boone answered with a deep three to spark a decisive run. WKU poured in 22 points over the final 4:26, turning defense into offense with back-to-back steals that led to Moore's go-ahead layup and Boone's monster dunk to extend the lead to 72-69.
- EKU managed to tie it once more at 72-72, but the Hilltoppers responded with three straight buckets from Moore, Boone and Hackman to pull away. Blaise Keita added a pair of late baskets to extend the cushion to 81-75 and Terrion Murdix sealed the win with four free throws in the closing seconds as WKU defeated EKU 87-79.
NOTABLES
- WKU improves to 2-0 on the year and pushes its all-time mark against Eastern Kentucky to 118-44.
- Tonight's starting five was Terrion Murdix, LJ Hackman, Teagan Moore, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita.
- Announced attendance for the game was 4,021.
- Five Hilltoppers scored in double digits. Teagan Moore led the way with 22, Grant Newell had 15, Armelo Boone tallied 14, LJ Hackman recorded 13 and Terrion Murdix chipped in 10.
- Moore matched his career high with 22 points — something he last accomplished against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 28, 2024 — while adding six rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes. He shot 8-of-15 from the floor, 1-of-2 from three and 5-of-8 at the line.
- Newell contributed 15 points in 22 minutes with two rebounds and went 5-of-14 from the field, 2-of-9 from deep and 3-of-4 from the stripe.
- Boone was a difference-maker off the bench, scoring 14 points — 12 coming in the second half — while adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals on 6-of-13 shooting.
- Hackman added 13 points with two boards, two assists, and a steal.
- Murdix finished with 10 points, including six free throws, alongside five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
- The Hilltoppers shot 42% as a team, converting 32-of-70 attempts.
- WKU was exceptional taking care of the ball, committing just three turnovers — none in the second half — which marked only the second time in at least the past 13 seasons WKU had three or fewer turnovers in a game.
- WKU forced EKU into 14 turnovers and converted them into 15 points while allowing just two points off giveaways.
- WKU dominated in transition, outscoring the Colonels 27-3 on fastbreaks.
QUOTABLES
- "I thought it was a cool environment. I thought every time they made a run, the place certainly got loud. I thought our guys handled it well. I think as a competitor you embrace those moments. The best teams love to go on the road and kind of be the bad guys. We kind of took that approach last week and there was nothing we hadn't seen before. There was nothing that surprised us. It was a cool environment to play in, but even cooler to get a win in it." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, on the environment in the win over Eastern Kentucky.
- "I want to give a huge shoutout to my team. They kept believing in me. Even though I shot like 1-for-4, they were still telling me to shoot threes. The coaching staff is always telling us to put our hands up and I ended up getting three steals and two dunks." — Guard Armelo Boone, on the win over Eastern Kentucky.
NEXT UP
- The Hilltoppers return home for a two-game homestand, starting with the Nov. 16 game against Tennessee State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at E.A. Diddle Arena and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets to the game can be purchased HERE.
