WKU Basketball: Tops Beat Cumberlands, 88–59, to Finish Exhibition Play 2–0
Western Kentucky finished their exhibition slate with a 29-point victory against The University of Cumberlands, 88–59, Friday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Jairus Hamilton and Dayvion McKnight led the way for the Hilltoppers as each had commanding double doubles.
The Tops opened the gate strong, shooting 83% (five-of-six) from the floor, taking an 11–0 lead at the 16 minute mark of the first half thanks in large part to Jaylen Butz, who had a quick six points and a pair of rebounds within the first three minutes of the game.
However coming out of the first timeout, UC hit a couple of quick threes to shrink WKU’s lead.
The Patriots success in the first half was due to J.J. Ramey: The junior guard was the main contributor for the Cumberlands offense as he was able to knock down multiple three pointers and finished the first half shooting 86% (six-of-seven) from the floor, tallying 16 points in 12 minutes.
Cumberlands as a whole finished the first half shooting 40% from behind the arc. While perimeter defense has been a problem with Topper teams of the recent past, for the most part, WKU’s defense looked energized and stout Friday. However there have been times where they let the opposing teams crawl back into games with uncontested shots.
If this WKU team can limit the amount of times that occurs, we may be looking at a very complete team that has a great chance of having a successful season.
Throughout the rest of the first half, WKU slowly grew their lead behind McKnight’s strong start: The sophomore guard had early success driving the lanes and getting to the basket. It looks like the heavy minutes he got as a freshman are going to be huge for his development as a whole.
He finished the first half with 10 points, five assists, and three rebounds in 18 minutes.
All in all, the first half for WKU went alright: It took them some time to gel, but after a few sloppy passes and questionable contested shots, they seemed to find a solid rhythm that continued into the second half.
In the second half, the Tops were just too much for the Patriots, at one point going on a 17–0 run. WKU was a more complete team on both sides of the ball, with Josh Anderson having a couple of his signature steal and slams.
Jamarion Sharp was also a menace around the rim and was able to have a couple of key blocks in the second half. One of the bench standouts of the Tops’ two-game exhibition slate, we’ll see Tuesday if he can continue his presence against Division I talent.
The biggest story of the second half was Hamilton, who completely took over the game. Whether it was shooting threes or grabbing a board and putting it back up he seemed to be able to do it all. In the second half he shot 71% (five-of-seven) from the field, scoring 15 points while also adding nine rebounds to his total.
These past two games have been huge for the development of this Hilltopper group. It seems like they have meshed as a unit and have great team chemistry as they look happy to be together and look genuinely excited when each individual player has success. The lack of bench depth shouldn’t be too concerning yet as the team is still going to add Keith Williams and Zion Harmon at some point this season, hopefully sooner rather than later. We should have a great year on our hands Hilltopper fans, so stay tuned.
Western Kentucky welcomes Alabama State to Bowling Green on Tuesday night at 7 p.m., in the regular season opener for both clubs.
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