Tyrone Marshall Jr. led the Hilltoppers in the scoring column finishing with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. Leeroy Odiahi finished with a team-high six boards, while Braxton Bayless tied Marshall for a team-high in assists with three.
The Tops struggled to connect from the field and from the arc, shooting at a .269% (14-of-52) clip with a .250% (8-of-32) mark from three-point range. New Mexico State outrebounded WKU 48-25 and 14-2 on the offensive glass, while outscoring the Tops 9-1 on second-chance points and 24-6 in the paint.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Aggies opened scoring with a layup 16 seconds into the game, the Tops responded with a Jalen Jackson made three 30 seconds later to take an early 3-2 lead. The Aggies connected on another bucket in the paint to reclaim a 4-3 lead, but a McHenry layup off a fastbreak gave WKU the advantage back, 5-4, at the 17:51 mark of the first. NM State hit on a pull-up jumper to regain a 6-5 lead with 17:24 to play until the half. The Aggies went on a 6-0 run to bring the count out to 10-5 before Khristian Lander hit from range to cut the margin down to two, 10-8, with 15:51 remaining in the half. Another 6-0 run by the Aggies pushed the margin back out to eight, 16-8, entering the first media break.
The Tops battled back to cut the deficit to two, 16-14, with 12:41 remaining in the first. NM State outscored WKU 5-1 over the next four-plus minutes and led, 21-15, heading into the under-eight media timeout. The Aggies continued the scoring run out of the break, extending the streak to 10 unanswered and pushing the lead out to 14, 29-15, with 3:21 remaining until the half. A Marshall three would cut into the deficit, but the Aggies maintained the 14-point margin entering the half and went to the break leading, 34-20.
The teams returned for the second half and WKU's poor shooting continued, as NM State pushed its lead out to 18, 46-28, four minutes in. The Tops shot just .276% from the field and .222% in the second half, falling behind by 23, 62-39, with 8:20 remaining in regulation to mark the largest deficit of the game for the team. The Tops were unable to cut the margin below double digits, and regulation ended with WKU falling to New Mexico State, 65-47.
NOTABLES
- WKU utilized the starting lineup of Bayless, Keita, McHenry, Jackson and Marshall Jr. for the third time this season. The group is now 2-1.
- The all-time series between the Hilltoppers and the Aggies now stands at 12-3.
- Tyrone Marshall Jr. led the Hilltoppers in the scoring column with 16 points off 5-of-17 shooting from the field, adding three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
- Leeroy Odiahi finished with a team-best six rebounds, including four on the offensive end, and led the team in steals with two.
- Braxton Bayless tied Marshall for a team-high in assists with a total of three.
- WKU shot the ball at a .269% (14-of-52) clip with a .250% (8-of-32) mark from three-point range, while NM State finished with a .373% (22-of-59) mark from the field and .240% (6-of-25) from the arc.
- New Mexico State outrebounded WKU 48-25 and 14-2 on the offensive glass.
- The Aggies outscored the Tops 9-1 on second-chance points and 24-6 in the paint.
- NM State benefited off 18 points from its bench compared to the Tops' 11.
- WKU held a lead for just 55 seconds to NM State's 38:51. The game saw just four lead changes, all coming in the first three minutes of the game. The Aggies took the lead at 17:24 of the first half and remained in front for the remainder of competition.
- WKU falls to 16-13 overall and 7-9 in league play with the loss.
NEXT UP
Hilltopper Basketball returns home for its final week of regular-season competition hosting FIU on Thursday, March 6. Tipoff from E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. is slated for 7 p.m. CT with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
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.
