WKU MBB: WKU Falls to Kennesaw State on Saturday

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball lost to Kennesaw State 81-65 on Saturday inside E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Hilltoppers fall to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in Conference USA play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kennesaw State held a slim 9-7 lead at the first media timeout. Ryan Myers opened the scoring for WKU with a floater and then added two free throws before Armelo buried a 3-pointer.
• WKU grabbed a brief 16-12 lead midway through the half after back-to-back 3-pointers from Myers and Grant Newell, followed by a driving layup from LJ Hackman. The Owls responded with a 10-0 run to go ahead 22-16 with 10:24 remaining.
• Hackman hit two free throws and threw down a fast-break dunk to trim the deficit to one, and Myers followed with a layup and two free throws to put WKU back in front, 25-24, with 6:30 to play.
• Kennesaw State answered again, using a 12-2 stretch to take a 36-27 advantage as the Hilltoppers went cold from the field. After Jack Edelen knocked down two free throws, the Owls connected on a 3-pointer to push their lead to double digits at 39-29.
• Hackman closed the half on a good note for WKU, drilling a corner three with 10 seconds left to bring WKU within nine at the break, 43-34.
• WKU came out firing to start the second half, using an 11-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Ryan Myers 3-pointers. Teagan Moore and LJ Hackman each added baskets during the stretch to give the Hilltoppers a 44-43 lead.
• Kennesaw State responded with a quick 5-0 spurt to move back in front, but WKU stayed within striking distance as Moore converted an and-one off an inbound play. The Owls held a narrow 50-48 advantage with 11:22 remaining.
• The Hilltoppers went cold, going over seven minutes without a field goal as Kennesaw State built a double-digit lead. Myers’ fourth 3-pointer of the game ended the drought, but the Owls grew their advantage further, leading 67-52 with 4:53 to play.
• WKU cut into the Owl lead with back-to-back triples from Kade Unseld and Cam Haffner, but that would be it for the Hilltoppers comeback attempt as Kennesaw State closed the game out with an 81-65 win.

NOTABLES

• WKU falls to 11-7 overall, 4-3 in Conference USA play and 3-2 all-time against Kennesaw State.
• Tonight’s starting five featured Terrion Murdix, Ryan Myers, Armelo Boone, Teagan Moore and Noah Boyde.
• The announced attendance was 3,823.
• Three Hilltoppers finished in double figures, led by Myers with 16 points. LJ Hackman added 13 and Grant Newell chipped in 11.
• Myers led the Hilltoppers with 16 points, adding three assists in 27 minutes.
• Hackman provided a lift off the bench, posting 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go along with three rebounds, two steals and a block in 24 minutes.
• Newell contributed 11 points, four rebounds and two assists with one block and one steal in 30 minutes.
• Moore nearly recorded a double-double, finishing with nine points and eight boards in 34 minutes.
• Boone added eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes.
• The Hilltoppers led in second chance points (7-6), fast-break points (17-11) and bench points (32-17).

QUOTABLES

• “Hats off to them. Obviously, they came in here, as we expected them to do, playing with a ton of energy, purpose and fire. You can say it to our team or to you guys a million times, but if you take 20 shots out of the lineup, it makes everybody else have a little more pop to them. They played very well. There’s not much that we did to slow them down, and they played with some toughness and some energy that certainly outclassed us and obviously resulted in a lopsided finish.” — Mahurin Family Foundation Head Men’s Basketball Coach Hank Plona, on the loss to Kennesaw State.
• “I just feel like for today we had like a rough time getting a stretch of stops. So, I feel like every time we’d go on a run, they’d score again, they’d get an and-one or we’d foul and it kind of would deflate us. I just feel like we just got to keep picking each other up through it all and just knowing that it’s not going to be perfect. But we still got to go to win. Unfortunately, we didn’t win today.” — G Ryan Myers, on the loss to Kennesaw State.
• “We never really go into a game thinking we’re going to do this 100 percent, like this certain thing 100 percent of the time. Even when we went zone, they still had their way down inside. So, we got to make adjustments and get better for Wednesday.” — G Teagan Moore, on the loss to Kennesaw State.

NEXT UP

• WKU concludes its homestand next Wednesday, Jan. 21, against Liberty. Tipoff inside E.A. Diddle Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and tickets can be purchased HERE.