Hackman saves the day for WKU

6 days ago 2

BOWLING GREEN — LJ Hackman saved the day for Western Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

Playing with four fouls down the stretch, the 6-foot-3 junior guard scored seven points in the final 2:51 to lift the Hilltoppers over Louisiana Tech 66-61 in a hotly contested Conference USA basketball game in E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU improved to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Bulldogs slipped to 8-6 in all games and 1-2 within the league.

"I was really proud of our team at the end," Western coach Hank Plona said. "We led for 39 minutes and then they take the lead with a minute to play — that can be a tough thing mentally to overcome. We responded the right way at both ends of the court after that, and it was a tremendous thing to see for our basketball team.

"LJ is such a winning player and he made big shots and played great defense with the game on the line. He had four fouls, but we had to get him back in there with about nine minutes to play, and he delivered for us in a huge way."

The Hilltoppers led 37-25 at halftime and stretched their advantage to 15 points in the first three minutes of the second half, but Louisiana Tech had just begun to fight.

The Bulldogs responded by scoring eight of the next 11 points and pulled within 45-37 on a follow shot by Will Allen with just over 15 minutes to play.

WKU pivotman Noah Boyde scored on an outback at 13:39, but it would be the Hilltoppers last field goal for the next 9:44 — allowing Louisiana Tech to methodically chip away at its deficit.

Two free throws by Hackman kept Western in front 51-46 with 7:06 to go, but the Bulldogs scored seven of the next nine points and pulled into a 53-all deadlock on a Kaden Cooper dunk at 4:20.

It was tied at 55 when Hackman swished a corner 3-pointer at 2:51, but Louisiana Tech scored six of the next eight points and pulled ahead for the first — and only — time when Melian Martinez connected on a short jumper in the lane to make it 61-60 with a minute to play.

The Bulldogs never scored again.

Ryan Myers hit two free throws to reclaim the lead for the Hilltoppers at 0:53, and Hackman drained four free throws over the final 26.4 seconds to seal the deal.

WKU was in control throughput the first half, when it shot 46% from the field, making 9 of 18 shots from 3-point range, but it was a completely different tale in the final 20 minutes, when Tech limited the Hilltoppers to 3 of 18 shooting from beyond the arc and began to dominate the glass.

"They're a really good defensive team and they clamped down on us in the second half," WKU forward Grant Newell said. "We were making shots in the first half, but after that those same shots, which I thought were good looks for us, just weren't falling.

"Credit to them for battling back, but we made the big plays at the end of the game — we did what we needed to do to win the game, and that's the bottom line."

Leading the way for Western was Teagan Moore, who produced 19 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Myers scored 13 points and Newell added 12. The 7-foot Boyde was solid in the paint, finishing with eight rebounds.

"Noah is getting there for us — he was crucial on defense in their last couple of possessions," Plona said. "He fought hard, he battled, and he continued to make plays."

For the game, WKU was limited to 32% shooting, and made only 7 of 31 shots in the second half (23%) — going 3 of 18 from distance (17%). But the Hilltoppers went 12 of 14 from the foul line in the second half (86%) and finished 20 of 25 overall (80%).

Louisiana Tech was paced by AJ Bates (13 points), Martinez (12 points), Scooter Williams (10 points), and Cooper, who hauled down 13 rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 38% from the field and were limited to just 4 of 20 shooting from distance (20%). The visitors rallied to win the rebounding battle (45-40), but were undone by a 9 of 19 performance from the foul stripe (47%).

The Hilltoppers now prepare for a two-game CUSA road swing at New Mexico State (Thursday) and UTEP (Saturday), before returning to Diddle on Jan. 14 for a league battle with Missouri State.

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