WKU Basketball: Tops Compete But Fall to #11 Memphis, 74–62
In a game filled with a combined 51 turnovers, Western Kentucky were able to hang with the #11 ranked Memphis Tigers before losing momentum in the second half and falling, 74–62.
This game was the rebirth of Cam Justice who rejoined the team after becoming a grad assistant. In his second game since rejoining the red and white, he had a team high 18 points while shooting 4-of-8 from deep. Jairus Hamilton had 14 points and McKnight, who struggled with turnovers and free throw shooting, had 11 points (but with ten turnovers).
Thankfully for WKU they caught superstar and projected NBA lottery pick Emoni Bates on an off night. Bates only had five points while shooting 2-of-10 from the field. It was Jalen Duren who lead the Tigers in scoring with 22 points.
This game ultimately was a lot closer than we all imagined it would be. WKU hung in there with Memphis the majority of the first half and even lead by double digits at one point but Memphis would make a late push and tie the game at halftime at 38.
In the second half, after numerous turnovers for both teams, Memphis would end up getting some momentum and were able to pull ahead by double digits. The Tops would fight back and get within four again but would never retake the lead and ran out of gas at the end of the game. The momentum really changes when Justice was close to score on a fast break and the shot was “blocked” by Memphis although to basically everyone it looked like a goaltend. Coach Stansbury argued his case and was issued a technical foul.
Even though both teams struggled shooting and handling the ball, the Tops looked better in a lot of areas. Obviously they could still use Keith Williams and Zion Harmon on the court at some point but this game was better than we were all thinking it would be so I’ll take it.
There’s a lot of things they’ll need to work on but with some more games against lesser opponents with Alabama A&M, UT-Martin, and D3 Rhodes College, they can work a lot of these issues out and hopefully add either (or both) Harmon and Williams soon.
The Tops’ next game is next Wednesday (the 24th) against Alabama A&M in Diddle Arena as the Tops get ready to have five straight home games.
Here are the final stats from the FedEx Forum:
