Hilltoppers roar from behind to win

1 week ago 2

BOWLING GREEN — Western Kentucky rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to run away from Sam Houston 102-91 in a wild, tale-of-two-halves Conference USA basketball game on Friday afternoon before a loud crowd in E.A. Diddle Arena.

The rejuvenated Hilltoppers improved to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in league play heading into a CUSA showdown with visiting Louisiana Tech at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

“I thought we showed a lot of toughness and grit once we had our backs to the wall,” WKU coach Hank Plona said. “We responded the right way and executed very well down the stretch against one of the better teams in Conference USA. I was very proud of our effort and our intensity.

“I was a little deflated at one point in the first half, but we made some big shots near the end of the half that kept us in it and then came back out in the second half and played very well for the most part — this is a very good win for us.”

Sam Houston still led by six following a 3-pointer by Po’Boigh King with 16 minutes to play, but WKU got consecutive 3-pointers from Cam Haffner and Armelo Boone, along with a conventional three-point play by Teagan Moore in a torrid 15-2 run to zoom in front 69-62 with just over 12 minutes remaining.

The Bearkats responded with an 8-0 spurt over the next two minutes to briefly reclaim the lead, but Western answered with a 10-0 run that took the steam out of Sam Houston.

Getting big baskets from Boone, Myers, Grant Newell and Moore, the Hilltoppers eventually stretched their lead to 14 points with just under five minutes to play, and the Bearkats never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

“Coach (Plona) really challenged us to be super aggressive and we were able to flip the switch,” Moore said. “We really got after it in the second half.”

Western was sluggish and sloppy for much of the first half — turning the ball over nine times.

Sam Houston scored the game’s first seven points and the Hilltoppers didn’t get on the board until Newell knocked down a 3-pointer at the 17-minute mark.

A 3-pointer by Isaiah Manning ignited an 11-1 spurt that pushed the Bearkats on top 18-8 following a layup by 6-foot-10 center Veijko Ilic at 11:08.

The visitors still led by 10 when WKU went on an 11-1 run of its own — LJ Hackman’s 3-pointer pulling the Tops within 22-21 at 8:22.

Sam Houston knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in a 13-2 spree that gave the visitors their largest lead of the half, 42-28, with 2:30 to go.

But Western closed fast, getting three 3-pointers from Myers and a half-court bomb at the buzzer from Moore to draw within 49-42 at intermission.

“I knew it was going in when it left my hands, I really did,” Moore said. “That shot gave us a big lift heading to the locker room at halftime.”

Moore finished with a career-high 28 points, adding six rebounds and three assists. Myers scored 18 points, and Boone produced 16 points, a game-best 13 rebounds and two blocks, with Newell adding 12 points and six rebounds.

“I was just out there playing as hard as I could, trying to help us be successful,” Boone said. “We had a (second-half) game plan that we executed very well — we showed the type of team we’re capable of becoming.”

The Hilltoppers shot 46% from the floor, including 40% from distance (14 of 35), sank 20 of 27 foul shots for 74%, and won the rebounding battle by a 49-40 margin. WKU committed only four second-half turnovers.

Manning nailed five 3-pointers and scored 23 points to pace the Bearkats, who also got 21 points from King, along with 16 points and 12 rebounds from Ilic.

Sam Houston (8-5, 0-2 CUSA) finished at 47% from the field, made 10 of 26 shots from distance (36%), and went 13 of 19 from the foul stripe (68%).

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