The Hilltoppers (14-11, 7-7 CUSA) earned a two-point win over the Blue Raiders (12-13, 6-8 CUSA) in front of a season-high crowd of 4,023 at Diddle Arena, as Teagan Moore tied his career high with 28 points off the bench in his return from a five-game injury absence. Grant Newell added 20 and LJ Hackman scored 14 while WKU shot 48.9% from the field and 87.5% at the line to complete a 2-0 regular-season sweep of Middle Tennessee.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Grant Newell set the tone early, scoring five of WKU's first seven points as the Hilltoppers took a 7-6 lead into the first media timeout. Newell opened the game by knocking down his first 3-point attempt and then finishing at the rim for his second basket, while Terrion Murdix added a driving layup for WKU's other early score.
- Middle Tennessee answered with an 8-3 run to go in front 14-10, but the Hilltoppers responded with a 12-2 spurt to regain the lead. LJ Hackman sparked the stretch with six points, hitting a 3-pointer and knocking down three free throws after being fouled on another 3-point attempt, before Newell and Teagan Moore buried back-to-back threes to push the WKU advantage to 22-16 with 9:22 left in the half.
- The Hilltoppers stretched the lead to nine at 27-18 after Leeroy Odiahi threw down an alley-oop dunk on a pass from Murdix and Moore converted an and-one at the rim. Middle Tennessee cut the deficit to 27-23 at the 7:14 mark, but WKU answered again as Newell scored five straight and Cam Haffner knocked down two free throws to make it 40-32 with just over two minutes remaining in the half. The Blue Raiders closed on a 5-2 run, trimming the margin to 42-37 at the break.
- WKU carried its momentum into the second half, using a 13-4 run to build a 55-41 lead with 16:04 to play. Blaise Keita, Murdix, Hackman and Moore all attacked the rim for baskets during the surge, with Hackman scoring twice on drives and Moore adding a free throw to cap the stretch.
- Middle Tennessee clawed back with a 16-5 run of its own, holding WKU without a field goal for nearly four minutes. Moore and Keita combined for five free throws during that span, helping the Hilltoppers maintain a 60-57 edge with 12:12 remaining.
- The game swung back and forth over the next several minutes as Moore, Newell and Murdix scored at the rim, but the Blue Raiders moved in front 69-66 with 6:47 to play, their first lead of the half.
- The Hilltoppers sank 14 free throws in the closing minutes, with Moore, Hackman, Newell and Ryan Myers all converting at the stripe. Moore led the way with eight makes at the line down the stretch, including two with three seconds left to secure the 82-80 victory.
NOTABLES
- WKU improves to 14-11 overall, 7-7 in Conference USA play and 102-49 all-time and 2-0 this season against Middle Tennessee with the win.
- Today's starting five featured Terrion Murdix, Kade Unseld, LJ Hackman, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita.
- Announced attendance was 4,023. That marks a season-high for E.A. Diddle Arena.
- Three Hilltoppers reached double figures in the win, led by Teagan Moore's 28 points. Grant Newell added 20 and LJ Hackman chipped in 14. It marks the first time this season WKU has had a pair of 20-plus point scorers in the same game.
- Moore tied his career-high with 28 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and a career-best 13-of-15 at the free throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds and recorded a steal in 26 minutes off the bench.
- Newell had an efficient 20-point outing on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range while adding seven rebounds in 30 minutes.
- Hackman contributed 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and went a perfect 5-of-5 from the line. He added five rebounds in 24 minutes, finishing with a team-high plus-minus of plus-13.
- Murdix filled the stat sheet with seven assists — tying his season-high — along with six points on 3-of-6 shooting, four steals and three rebounds in 32 minutes.
- WKU shot 48.9% from the field (23-of-47), 36.4% from 3-point range (8-of-22) and 87.5% at the free throw line (28-of-32). The Hilltoppers' 28 made free throws and 32 attempts were both season-highs in conference play.
- WKU held a 38-31 advantage in bench points and matched Middle Tennessee with 20 points off turnovers.
- The Hilltoppers led for 27:18 of game time, while the Blue Raiders were ahead for 10:01. The matchup featured 13 lead changes and seven ties.
QUOTABLES
- "Very happy to get that win. I thought when it was 55-41, we were playing very, very well, scoring the ball, guarding. Then, like a lot of good teams do, they made a run, kind of figured out what we were doing on defense and we struggled to contain them, especially Smith. I thought Smith really got going and caused us some problems, both scoring and playmaking. But when it got to 66-62, I thought we did a good job with continuing to dig down deep, attack the rim. I thought we rebounded the ball better there in the last five to eight minutes and there was one second-chance bucket they got that had been a little bit of an issue all night. So, it's always good to dig down deep and figure out how to make plays to win. I think when a team starts building that connection, which I think we've really done the last three weeks, sometimes things go your way. So, I thought we got a couple stops there late in the game that were big. Obviously, 1-for-2 free throw to tie the game, went down there and without a timeout. Terrion [Murdix], Teagan [Moore] and Grant [Newell] executed exactly what we wanted them to do. Obviously, we wanted to attack the rim, put pressure on the basket. Teagan was able to do that. We did a good job making free throws all night, and we survived that last possession. So, very happy to get the win. It's obviously big for our team. We'll try to keep getting better these next couple days and play at Delaware on Wednesday." — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Coach Hank Plona, on the win over Middle Tennessee.
- "I mean, I absolutely love it. That gives you the most confidence in the world when just being out for two weeks can give you an ovation like that when you come back, and just feeling the love from the Diddle crowd definitely gave me a boost for this game." — G Teagan Moore, on checking into the game for the first time in the win over Middle Tennessee.
- "I think it definitely boosted us. Especially at the very end of the game. I mean, I could barely hear myself think at that last free throw and they were trying to get two misses, but, definitely when an opposing team comes in here and has a run like that in the second half, it's very important for the crowd to get into it and to give us a boost for the rest of the game, and I think they did a great job." — F Grant Newell, on the crowd in the win over Middle Tennessee.
- "I feel like I was just trailing down. I saw it come out and I just took it back in and just stayed in the moment." — G LJ Hackman, on his late tip-in in the win over Middle Tennessee.
NEXT UP
WKU hits the road for a two-game road swing next week, starting on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at Delaware. Tipoff inside the Bob Carpenter Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, with the game airing 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.
