Hilltoppers secure 90-80 victory over UTEP

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU men’s basketball defeated UTEP, 90-80, in Diddle Arena on Thursday night. The win marks the fourth straight for the Hilltoppers and improves the Tops’ record to 7-4 in Conference USA league play and 18-7 overall for the season.

WKU now holds a 9-2 all-time advantage and 5-0 record at home facing the Miners.

For the fifteenth time this season and fifth consecutive game, Don McHenry led the way for the Hilltoppers on the offensive end. The junior guard cashed in for 25 points along with five assists, five rebounds one steal and one block.

Freshman Teagan Moore posted a career-high 16 points on a 5-for-7 field-goal clip in 20 minutes of action. Babacar Faye notched a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double along with 2 blocks, one assist and a steal.

Halftime adjustments in Thursday’s game against the Miners proved to be effective for WKU, as the team managed a 63-percent clip from the field in the second half connecting on 19-of-30 total shots.

Tyrone Marshall Jr. found an open lane for a jam to put WKU on the board in the first minute of play. After a forced turnover by the Tops, Dontaie Allen gave WKU its first lead of the day with a connected floater off the glass.

On a second chance, the Miners drove to the rack before Faye elevated and blocked the attempt. McHenry collected the loose ball following the block and connected on a floater for the junior’s first points of the game to put the Tops up, 8-5, three minutes into regulation.

Another foul-line floater from McHenry gave WKU a 12-7 lead at the 15:49 mark of the first half. After a two-minute scoreless drought, Jack Edelen found Allen for WKU’s first triple of the day to go up 20-15. The three-pointer spurred a 7-0 run by the Hilltoppers and gave WKU a nine-point advantage, 24-15, with 8:39 remaining in the half.

UTEP hit its first three of the game nearly 12 minutes in, before Faye ignited the crowd with a two-hand slam, drawing contact on the way up and putting the Hilltoppers up eight, 26-18, at the under-eight timeout.

A baseline drive by Moore out of the timeout gave WKU a double-digit lead, 28-18. A Miner triple cut the Hilltopper lead back down to nine before a response by McHenry put WKU up 11 with six minutes until the break.

Back-to-back threes by UTEP and a fastbreak layup closed the gap to just two, 33-31, with 4:29 until half. After the Miners tied the game at 33, ball movement by the Tops found a cutting Howard open for an easy two to give WKU another two-point lead.

Following a pair of made free throws by the Miners with two minutes remaining in the half, the Tops notched a steal as Brandon Newman connected with Moore for an easy two, tying things at 37. UTEP responded with a triple, and a pair of made free throws by Faye cut the margin to one, 40-39.

A contested three off the mark by the Miners at the horn would send the teams into the locker room, WKU trailing 40-39.

Newman connected on the first shot of the second half from beyond the arc, giving WKU a 42-40 lead 30 seconds into second-half play. The Tops then forced a turnover and McHenry found Faye for a slam to give WKU a four-point lead with 18:02 remaining. McHenry connected on a three from the right corner to give the Tops a 47-40 lead at the 17:26 mark.

UTEP’s first made basket of the half came nearly three minutes into the second from beyond the arc. Two more Miner triples tied the game at 49-apiece with 16:06 to play in regulation.

Out of the first media break, Lander connected from long range for the senior’s first points of the night, regaining a lead for WKU, 52-49, with 15:08 to play. After another response by UTEP evened the count, Moore broke double figures with a conventional three to give WKU a two-point advantage, 55-53, with 14:23 to play.

A defensive board found the Tops running in transition where Lander found Rodney Howard for a two-handed jam, giving WKU a 57-53 lead. Enoch Kalambay drove through the lane and laid one in off the glass, and McHenry followed with a contested layup giving the Tops a 61-56 edge halfway through the second half.

Four quick points by UTEP led to the sixth tie of the game before Marshall fed Newman for a dunk to put WKU back up a pair. McHenry collected a block by Marshall, then found an open Newman on the wing for a three-pointer to put WKU ahead, 70-65, with 6:15 remaining.

McHenry drove to the basket, drawing contact and getting the roll to put WKU up by six with 5:34 remaining. McHenry then cashed in on a turnover by the Miners, hitting from range and giving WKU its largest lead of the half, 76-67, with 5:09 to play.

McHenry again maneuvered through traffic to the rack, adding to the Hilltopper lead, 80-69, with just under four minutes to play. After the Miners cut the lead down to single digits, Lander rattled a layup to bring the margin back out to 10 in favor of the Tops. A pair of converted foul shots by Moore matched the largest WKU lead of the night, up a dozen, 86-74.

With just over a minute to go, Marshall found Moore for a layup to give WKU its largest lead of the night, 88-74. The Hilltoppers closed out the game by a final count of 90-80, earning an 18th win on the season and seventh win in league play.

WKU returns to Diddle Arena this Saturday, Feb. 17 for Senior Day against New Mexico State. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. CT with ESPN+ set to broadcast the event.