Lander Posts Career-High 30 Points as Tops Fall Short at Jax State, 85-83

Saturday, February 8

Jacksonville, Ala.

4 p.m.

Western Kentucky University

14-10,5-6CUSA

Jacksonville State

17-7,9-2CUSA

Western Ky.

Jacksonville St.

Lander Posts Career-High 30 Points as Tops Fall Short at Jax State, 85-83

2/8/2025 7:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Book (PDF)

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – WKU men's basketball came up short on the road facing Conference USA league-leader Jacksonville State, 85-83, on Saturday night in Pete Mathews Coliseum. Khristian Lander led the Hilltoppers' scoring effort with a career-high 30 points off 9-for-13 shooting from the field with a 6-of-9 mark from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 mark at the charity stripe.

Tyrone Marshall Jr. finished with 22 points on an 8-for-13 clip with 3-of-7 from the arc and 3-of-3 at the stripe. Marshall Jr. led the team in rebounds with seven, adding two assists and a steal in 36 minutes of action. Braxton Bayless charted 15 points on a .700% (7-for-10) clip shooting from the field with five rebounds, a team-high four assists and two steals.

With the loss, WKU falls to 14-10 overall with a 5-6 mark in CUSA league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tops took the opening tip and opened scoring with a Marshall Jr. made layup to take an early 2-0 lead 18 seconds in. Bayless connected on a jumper in the paint, and Marshall Jr. notched another layup off a fastbreak to push the early WKU lead to 6-0 less than two minutes in. Blaise Keita connected on a pair at the stripe to give WKU an 8-0 advantage at the 17:18 mark of the first half.

Jax State scratched the scoring column for the first time with a two-point layup at the 16:50 mark, but a Lander three moments later would push the Tops lead to nine, 11-2. The Gamecocks managed to cut the Hilltopper lead to three before Bayless and McHenry combined for the next 10 points for the Tops to give WKU a 13-point, 21-8 lead. A Marshall Jr. three pushed the Tops' lead to 15 with 12:41 to play until the half, and another three-pointer by Lander followed by a layup in the paint by Bayless extended the Tops' lead to 19, the largest of the game for WKU.

WKU maintained a double-digit lead for the next seven minutes of play until JSU cut the Hilltopper lead to eight, 44-36, off a made three with 2:33 to play in the first half. The Gamecocks managed a bucket to cut the margin to six before the half, and the teams went into the break with the Tops leading, 44-38.

Returning for the second half, JSU evened the count for the first time 90 seconds in. A pair of made free throws by the Gamecocks gave JSU its first lead of the game, 48-46, before a Jalen Jackson two-pointer evened the count at 48-all. The Gamecocks took a four-point lead with 14:58 remaining, but a Lander three and a Bayless layup gave the Tops the lead back, 56-55, a minute later. A made bucket by Marshall Jr. stretched the WKU lead back out to three, but back-to-back three-pointers by JSU gave the Gamecocks a three-point lead with 12:46 to play in regulation.

A made pair at the line by Marshall Jr. again tied the game at 61-all. JSU reclaimed a four-point advantage, but another Lander triple gave the guard 19 points on the night and cut the Gamecock lead to one, 65-64. Another made pair at the line by Marshall Jr. gave the Hilltoppers the lead back, 66-65, with 9:29 remaining in the game.

The second half saw nine lead changes in total, with a Lander layup giving the Tops a one-point lead, 70-69, with 5:54 to play in regulation, and a Marshall Jr. three reclaiming a two-point advantage in the Tops' favor, 75-73, with 4:07 to play.

With JSU taking a four-point lead with 2:35 remaining, the Tops responded as Lander connected on a sixth three-pointer to bring the game to within one, 79-78, with 33 seconds remaining. The Gamecocks hit both at the stripe to push the WKU deficit back out to three, but a drawn foul by Lander placed him at the stripe with 19 seconds remaining. Lander sunk both to again cut the JSU lead down to one, 81-80.

A foul put JSU at the line, with the Gamecocks hitting both and reclaiming a three-point lead, 83-80, with 10 seconds left in regulation. With an opportunity to tie the game and force overtime with a made three, the Tops turned the ball over to JSU. A dunk on the other end by the Gamecocks pushed the count to 85-80 and secured the win for Jax State. A three-pointer by McHenry would fall as time expired, and the game ended with the Tops narrowly falling to Jax State by an 85-83 final count.

NOTABLES

Khristian Lander posted a career-high 30 points off 9-for-13 shooting and a 6-of-9 mark from behind the arc. The graduate guard added four rebounds, one assist and two steals in 35 minutes of action.
Tyrone Marshall Jr. finished with 22 points while connecting on 8-of-13 from the field. He added a team-best seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 36 minutes of action.
Braxton Bayless finished with 15 points on a .700% (7-of-10) shooting clip from the field. He also dished out a team-best four assists while grabbing five rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes of action.
Don McHenry was the fourth Hilltopper to reach double figures, finishing with 10 points along with a rebound and a steal.
The Tops finished with a .518% (29-of-56) clip shooting from the field and a .500% (12-of-24) clip from beyond the arc. This marks the fifth time this season WKU has shot the ball at a clip of .500% or better.
WKU finished with a perfect 13-of-13 mark at the charity stripe
WKU led for 24:28 of the game to Jax State's 11:47. The game saw nine lead changes, all in the second half, and eight ties.

NEXT UP
Hilltopper Basketball returns home to Diddle Arena next week and enters a three-game home stretch beginning with a rematch against rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT and will be nationally televised live on CBS Sports Network.

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.