Tops fall to Marshall in Huntington

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball fell to Marshall, 77-61, on Wednesday night inside the Cam Henderson Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Marshall opened the game strong with a 7-0 run, scoring on three of its first four possessions. WKU got on the board with a Ryan Myers 3-pointer at the 17:01 mark.
• The Hilltoppers tied the game at 12-12 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. LJ Hackman hit a jumper, and Grant Newell followed with five straight points on a fast-break dunk and a 3-pointer.
• After the Thundering Herd briefly regained the lead at 14-12, WKU responded with a 10-2 run to move ahead 22-16. Teagan Moore scored twice inside, Hackman converted an and-one layup and Cam Haffner knocked down a 3-pointer.
• Marshall answered with a 6-0 spurt to even things up, but WKU came right back with a 6-0 run of its own to take a 28-22 lead. Hackman added a layup and a dunk for four points, while Noah Boyde went 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
• The Thundering Herd closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 29-28 edge into the locker room.
• Marshall opened the second half on a 10-3 run to stretch its lead to 34-28, with WKU’s lone points coming from a Newell and-one.
• Myers connected on his second 3-pointer of the night and Moore sank two free throws to cut the deficit to four, but Marshall pushed its lead to double digits, 51-40, after converting three free throws.
• The Thundering Herd later used a 14-2 run to extend their advantage to 68-45 with 6:23 remaining. Armelo Boone scored WKU’s only basket during that stretch with a layup.
• WKU trimmed the deficit in the closing minutes but was unable to complete the comeback, ultimately falling 77-61.

NOTABLES

• WKU falls to 6-3 on the season and 23-13 all-time against Marshall.
• The Hilltoppers’ starting lineup was Armelo Boone, Cam Haffner, Teagan Moore, Grant Newell and Blaise Keita.
• WKU was held to a season-low 61 points after scoring at least 75 in each of its first eight games.
• Ryan Myers was the lone Hilltopper in double figures, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
• LJ Hackman and Teagan Moore each added nine points. Hackman went 4-of-12 from the field, while Moore shot 3-of-8.
• Armelo Boone led WKU on the glass with six rebounds.
• Jack Edelen dished out a team-high four assists.
• Noah Boyde recorded a team-best two blocks.
• As a team, WKU shot 20-of-65 (30.8%) from the field, 6-of-24 (25.0%) from 3-point range and 15-of-21 (71.4%) from the free throw line.
• The Hilltoppers held advantages in bench points (33-26) and fast-break points (13-10).

NEXT UP

The Hilltoppers return home for their final two nonconference games, starting with Campbellsville on Monday, Dec. 15. Tipoff inside E.A. Diddle Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.