Tops cruise to 87-72 win over Missouri State

2 hours ago

WNKY Staff,

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball defeated Missouri State 87-72 on Wednesday night inside E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU (11-6, 4-2 CUSA) overcame an early Missouri State run (10-7, 4-2 CUSA) and steadily took control, using a 17-6 first half surge to build a 41-34 halftime lead before stretching the margin to as many as 19 in the second half. Four Hilltoppers scored in double figures, led by Teagan Moore’s 20 points, while Grant Newell poured in all 14 of his points before the break and both Armelo Boone and LJ Hackman added 11. WKU shot over 50% from the field and nearly 83% at the line on its way to a 15-point home win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

WKU scored the first four points on an Armelo Boone jumper and a driving layup from Terrion Murdix, but Missouri State responded with an 11-2 run to grab a five-point lead at the 14:21 mark of the first half.
The Hilltoppers fought back to even the score at 17-17 after an LJ Hackman bucket in the paint, followed by rim finishes from Noah Boyde, Murdix and Teagan Moore, capped off by a Boone 3-pointer.
WKU regained the lead, 21-20, with just over seven minutes left in the half as Moore hit two free throws and Grant Newell scored on a second chance put-back.
A 17-6 Hilltopper surge pushed the advantage to 36-26 with 2:43 remaining before halftime. Five different players contributed during the run — Newell led the way with eight points including a pair of 3-pointers, Boone added a jumper and Murdix, Blaise Keita and Hackman each chipped in from the line.
WKU took a 41-34 lead into halftime after two more Keita free throws and Newell’s third triple of the half.
Missouri State trimmed the deficit to three early in the second half, but WKU quickly rebuilt a 9-point lead. Ryan Myers knocked down a 3-pointer and Boone, Boyde and Hackman each scored at the rim to make it 50-41 with 16:24 to play.
The Hilltoppers took full control midway through the half, stretching their lead to 70-51 with 9:12 left. Moore fueled the surge with six points, while Myers and Hackman added five each, and Leeroy Odiahi and Murdix each contributed a bucket.
Moore helped WKU seal the win down the stretch, scoring 10 of the Hilltoppers’ final 16 points to close out an 87-72 victory with seven free throws in the final minutes.

NOTABLES

WKU improves to 11-6 overall, 8-1 at home, 4-2 in Conference USA play and 1-2 all-time against Missouri State.
Tonight’s starting five featured Terrion Murdix, Ryan Myers, Armelo Boone, Teagan Moore and Noah Boyde.
The announced attendance was 2,745.
Four Hilltoppers finished in double figures, led by Moore with 20 points. Grant Newell added 14, while Boone and LJ Hackman each chipped in 11.
Moore paced WKU with 20 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting, going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line. He also grabbed five rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes.
Newell delivered all 14 of his points in the first half. He finished 5-of-11 from the floor and hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc while grabbing seven rebounds in 29 minutes.
Boone had 11 points, shooting 5-of-13 from the floor while registering four rebounds and three steals across 25 minutes.
Hackman turned in 11 points on a perfect shooting night — 3-of-3 from the field, 1-of-1 from deep and 4-of-4 at the line. He also added three assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
Murdix had nine points and six assists. He shot 3-of-5 from the field and contributed four rebounds and a steal in 26 minutes.
Myers provided eight points in the first seven minutes of the second half, going 3-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range while contributing three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes.
Boyde chipped in six points on 2-of-4 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes.
As a team, WKU shot 28-of-55 (50.9%) from the field, 7-of-16 (43.8%) from 3-point range and 24-of-29 (82.8%) from the free throw line.
The Hilltoppers led in points off turnovers (19-6), points in the paint (38-28), second chance points (16-15), fast-break points (8-2), bench points (33-14), rebounds (34-30) and steals (8-5).
WKU led for 28:46 while Missouri State led for 9:23. There were four lead changes and five ties.

QUOTABLES

“I’m pretty proud of the guys for tonight’s win. I thought that was a March basketball game, but that was a January basketball game where both teams were trying to do what they want to do and I think the opponent, them to us and us to them, we both played fairly well and it was hard to just impose your will. They’re a unique team in how they play on offense for sure and a very strong and physical team in how they play on defense, so they bothered us, but I thought we did a good job after the first couple minutes figuring out what they want to do on offense, reacting, playing smart and playing together when we were on defense. Then when we were on offense, being patient and moving the ball. A lot of our first actions didn’t work tonight, we weren’t just going down and scoring an easy basket, but I thought we continued to move the ball, not turn it over, go side to side a little bit and then by late clock, we probably had more late shot-clock baskets than I can remember this team having all year. I thought we played like a mature basketball team. Obviously, a couple spurts there, you always want to get better and there’s certainly room for improvement, but I would say there were probably 30 to 32 minutes where I thought we played like a very good, mature basketball team and I’m very, very happy to get that win.” — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Men’s Basketball Coach Hank Plona, on tonight’s win over Missouri State.

“I think we were able to do it very well. They came out and got an early lead. We were just able to stay together, stay confident in our abilities and fight back for the rest of the game.” — G Teagan Moore, on the team’s game plan in the win over Missouri State.

“I don’t think it was anything different. We just stuck together, stayed together. I mean that’s something that’s big. No matter if we get out to great starts or get out to bad starts, coach is always talking about how we’ve got to stay together always.” — F Grant Newell, on how the team responded to a slow start in the win over Missouri State.

NEXT UP

WKU continues its homestand on Saturday, Jan. 17, against Kennesaw State. Tipoff inside E.A. Diddle Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.