The Hilltoppers used a balanced offensive effort and several clutch second-half runs to earn the victory over the Shockers. WKU led 33-29 at the half after an early surge from Armelo Boone and Teagan Moore, then weathered a big Wichita State push after the break before responding with a 10-0 run of their own to regain control. Boone, making his first career start, scored a game-high 22 points while Grant Newell and Moore added 18 each, and key late 3-pointers from Ryan Myers plus multiple and-ones from Moore helped the Hilltoppers close it out down the stretch.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED
- WKU held a 7-5 lead at the 16:49 mark after Teagan Moore scored the Hilltoppers' first four points on back-to-back layups before Cam Haffner knocked down his first 3-pointer of the night.Â
- The Hilltoppers maintained a 14-12 edge at the under-12 media timeout as LJ Hackman buried a triple and both Armelo Boone and Grant Newell converted on layups.Â
- Wichita State broke a 16-16 tie with a 3-pointer, but one free throw from Newell and two from Boone brought WKU back even at 19-19 with 7:57 remaining in the first half.Â
- Boone then scored the next eight points for WKU, giving him 10 straight, on a 3-pointer, a jumper and three more free throws to push the Hilltoppers in front 27-23 at the 3:46 mark.Â
- WKU carried a 33-29 lead into the halftime break as Boone hit another jumper and Moore added four more points on a layup and a pair of free throws.Â
- The lead changed hands multiple times early in the second half as Wichita State briefly seized the momentum, but Hackman answered by putting the Hilltoppers ahead 37-34 with a floater and two makes at the free-throw line.Â
- The Shockers responded with a 10-0 run to take control, prompting WKU to call a timeout with 13:53 remaining in regulation.Â
- WKU answered with a 10-0 spurt of its own to move back in front 47-46 after Moore converted an and-one. Wichita State briefly jumped back ahead with a dunk and a 3-pointer, but Newell drilled a triple and Boone followed with three straight two-point buckets to swing the advantage to WKU, 56-52.Â
- Newell kept the surge going, trading baskets with the Shockers by knocking down back-to-back jumpers before burying a 3-pointer with the game tied at 60 with just over five minutes to play.Â
- Ryan Myers then buried a deep 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to extend the lead, and Moore finished through contact for another and-one to give WKU a 69-60 cushion with 3:08 remaining.Â
- Wichita State trimmed the margin to 72-69 with 1:07 to go, but Moore and Myers each went 2-for-2 at the stripe in the closing minute to secure a 75-70 Hilltopper victory.
NOTABLES
- WKU improved to 5-2 on the season and evened the all-time series with Wichita State at 4-4.Â
- The starting five featured Armelo Boone, Cam Haffner, Teagan Moore, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita, with Boone making his first career collegiate start.Â
- Three Hilltoppers scored in double figures, led by a game-high 22 points from Boone and 18 apiece from Newell and Moore.Â
- In his first career start, Boone put together a career night with a team-high 22 points on a career-best 8-of-14 shooting and 5-of-6 at the line, adding three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in a career-high 35 minutes.Â
- Newell turned in his best offensive outing of the season, posting a season-high 18 points on a season-best 7-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep, to go along with four rebounds and one steal in a season-high 28 minutes.Â
- Moore delivered another all-around game, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 6-of-7 at the line while adding a game-high six rebounds, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes.Â
- Hackman provided a spark off the bench with nine points on 2-of-6 shooting, a 1-of-2 mark from 3-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 at the stripe, while contributing five rebounds in 23 minutes.Â
- Myers chipped in five points on 1-of-4 shooting, knocking down a 3-pointer and going 2-of-2 at the line in 11 minutes.Â
- WKU shot 25-of-59 (42.4%) from the field while Wichita State finished 21-of-57 (36.8%).Â
- The Hilltoppers went 7-of-20 (35.0%) from 3-point range compared to the Shockers' 7-of-23 (30.4%) from deep.Â
- WKU converted 18-of-23 (78.3%) at the foul line, while Wichita State hit 21-of-26 (80.8%) at the stripe.Â
- The Hilltoppers finished with advantages in turnovers (7-9), points off turnovers (19-9) and steals (6-3).Â
- The game featured 11 lead changes and 11 ties, with each team's largest lead reaching nine points.
- WKU led for 21:25 of game time, compared to 12:33 for Wichita State.
QUOTABLES
- "Obviously, very, very proud of the guys for how we were able to fight and to win that game. That was a little bit of a slug-fest, a grind-fest or whatever there for a while. I glanced at our field goal percentage there in the second half about midway through and it wasn't very pretty, so with some things going wrong, third game in three days it can be a challenge, but man, we tried a couple things and a couple things worked and the guys believed in what we were doing. They stuck together and came up with a very impressive, gritty win." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, on the win over Wichita State.
- "We work on those shots all the time. At the beginning of the season, we weren't shooting really well at all. In practice, I feel like we're a really good shooting team and everyone gets their work in individually. Guys are making threes, guys are making shots, so when it comes down to it, no matter how many shots we're missing, I feel like if you're confident and you believe in yourself, you're going to be able to step up and make the shot." — F Grant Newell, on making key shots late in the game against Wichita State.
- "The coaching staff and my teammates, they all believe in me. During practice, I play all types of positions, including point guard, so it's not really a surprise for me." — G Armelo Boone, on starting and playing point guard against Wichita State.
NEXT UP
- The Hilltoppers return home to play Evansville on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at E.A. Diddle Arena and the game will air on ESPN+.
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.
