Ryan Myers knocked down seven 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 27 points as the Hilltoppers edged the Purple Aces by one point. The Hilltoppers used a 17-5 run to close the first half and an 18-6 burst early in the second to build a double-digit lead, then held off a late Purple Aces rally in the final minute.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- WKU got off to a slow start as Evansville took a 10-4 lead through the first five minutes. A layup from Armelo Boone and a pair of free throws from Bryant Selebangue cut the deficit to 10-8 for the Hilltoppers.
- After the Purple Aces stretched their advantage to 18-8, Ryan Myers caught fire, single-handedly sparking an 8-0 run to pull the Hilltoppers within two at the 10:34 mark.
- The southpaw shooter drilled his third 3-pointer of the half to make it a 20-19 game with just over eight minutes remaining.
- Evansville responded with a 7-0 run to push its lead back to eight, but WKU closed the half strong with a 17-5 surge.
- Teagan Moore fueled the rally with six points on two layups and a pair of free throws, while Myers buried two more triples and added a layup. Selebangue chipped in a tip-in and a free throw as the Hilltoppers carried a 36-32 lead into halftime.
- WKU opened the second half on fire, hitting six of its first 10 shots to ignite an 18-6 run and build a 54-38 cushion. Noah Boyde converted a put-back, Moore finished at the rim and LJ Hackman knocked down a jumper before Hackman added another layup, Grant Newell went perfect at the line, and Boone and Selebangue scored inside before Moore capped the run with four straight free throws.
- The Hilltoppers maintained a double-digit lead until the seven-minute mark, when Evansville rallied to cut it to 70-64 with 6:33 remaining.
- Hackman buried a 3-pointer and Myers added two free throws to restore a 10-point margin, but the Purple Aces battled back again, closing the gap to 75-73 with 3:39 left.
- Hackman sank two clutch free throws and Myers connected on his seventh 3-pointer of the night to make it 80-75.
- Evansville scored four points in the final minute, but WKU held firm down the stretch to secure an 80-79 win.
NOTABLES
- WKU improves to 6-2 on the season and 42-20 all-time against Evansville.
- Tonight's starting five was Armelo Boone, Cam Haffner, Teagan Moore, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita.
- The announced attendance was 3,247.
- Four Hilltoppers scored in double figures. Ryan Myers posted a season-high 27 points, Teagan Moore had 15, LJ Hackman added 12 and Bryant Selebangue chipped in 11.
- Myers came up one point shy of his career high, leading WKU with 27 points while matching his career best with seven made 3-pointers and logging a season-high 31 minutes on 9-of-16 shooting, including 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.
- Moore continued his strong start to the year, reaching at least 15 points for the eighth straight game as he finished with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line, along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal.
- Hackman contributed 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, adding five rebounds, two assists and a game-high four steals.
- Selebangue recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 4-of-6 from the field while also tallying four assists and two steals.
- Noah Boyde turned in a career-best seven rebounds and chipped in four points in 14 minutes.
- WKU shot 27-of-62 (43.5%) from the floor, 9-of-20 (45.0%) from 3-point range and 17-of-23 (73.9%) at the foul line.
- The Hilltoppers led in rebounds (41-35), steals (10-4), points in the paint (32-12), fast-break points (9-6) and bench points (54-13).
- WKU led for 22:01, while Evansville held the advantage for 17:13, with just one lead change and one tie in the contest.
QUOTABLES
- "I guess it's better to get a win after a game like that than to get a loss, but obviously, for the most part, I think there was a 10-minute stretch late in the first half and early in the second half where I thought we played like we are capable of playing, and there was probably 18 minutes before and about 13 minutes after were we did not play too well, in my opinion. So, a lot of things to clean up. We looked a little sluggish all week, to be perfectly honest with you. Coming back from that trip, I wouldn't say we had any of our best 10-20 practices of the year, and it showed today. You're always going to play the way you perform and the way that you practice. Obviously better to, I say, win by one or 100 and you move on, but obviously this time of year you want to get a lot better. I don't think we showed the team that we're capable of being tonight. Obviously, Evansville had a lot to do with that at the same time. We were aware of what they can do and I think that if our effort and our intensity, togetherness, communication, and all the things that go into winning basketball were a little bit better, I think we could've affected them much better than we did. Pleased to get a win. Probably disappointed a little bit certainly with the beginning of the game and the end of the game, but obviously we'll learn from it and we'll get ready to go to Marshall on Wednesday." – Mahurin Family Foundation Head Men's Basketball Coach Hank Plona, on the win over Evansville.
- "I wasn't really thinking about a career high. I was just thinking about winning the game. Every shot I was taking, I was just staying in the moment and my teammates was finding me, the coaching staff was putting me in situations to get those shots and take those shots. I'm just grateful that we got the win." WKU Men's Basketball guard Ryan Myers, on his performance in the win over Evansville.
- "Game by game, our role doesn't change. But game by game, I feel myself piecing it together – just go out there and be an energy guy, be a rebounding guy. Coach is allowing me to go out there and rebound every game and that's what I have my mindset on, and everything else is going to follow. Like Ryan mentioned early, we're a deep team, so the way Coach coaches us, it's next man up, who's ready to go, who's ready to go out there and perform. We've got a great group of guys. We didn't quite perform how we wanted to. We've got to go back to the drawing board, but like I said, if we each do our job individually, we're going to get the outcome we want." – WKU Men's Basketball forward Bryant Selebangue, on developing roles early in the season.
NEXT UP
- The Hilltoppers hit the road for their final nonconference matchup of the season at Marshall on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Tipoff at Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W. Va., is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. The game will stream live 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.
