WKU Basketball: Tops Survive Cold Second Half Shooting to Trip up UTSA in 77–73 Overtime Thriller

WKU Basketball finished off pre-bonus play in Conference USA with their second straight gutsy road victory finishing off UTSA 77–73 in Overtime.

The first half was a back and forth affair as each team traded baskets and the margin was 27–25 around the five-minute mark. The Hilltoppers would go on a 9–0 run over the next three minutes to give them some breathing room. The Roadrunners clawed back into the game as they continued their hot first-half shooting (48.3%) as WKU led by a score of 41–34 at the break.

The Roadrunners came out of the locker room on fire starting the half on a 14–6 run and taking a 48–47 at the 13:22 mark. The Hilltoppers were ice cold over the first eight minutes shooting just 15% from the floor.

Jordan Rawls would drain a three-pointer with 10:52 to help the Hilltoppers regain the lead but Keaton Wallace would answer with a jumper as both teams were tied at 50 around the 10-minute mark.

The dogfight was on from there as the teams traded baskets over the next six minutes and were deadlocked at 60 around the four-minute mark. Wallace and Hollingsworth would trade baskets and the game stayed tied at the two-minute mark.

Jhivvan Jackson would help the Roadrunners retake the lead on a driving bank shot. Taveion Hollingsworth would tie it back up on a runner with 41.9 seconds remaining.

Jhivvan Jackson would miss a jumper with 14.9 seconds left and WKU would call a timeout with 9.7 seconds remaining. Taveion Hollingsworth would get the ball deep into Road Runner territory. He drove down the court and get to the baseline but his last-second jumper hit iron and the game went to overtime all squared up at 64 as WKU shot just 8 of 29 in the second half.

Jared Savage would drain a three-pointer and Josh Anderson would hit two free throws but Jhivvan Jackson answers with two buckets as WKU clinged to a one-point lead with 3:08 remaining.

Carson Williams then took over. He made a layup and then would drain two free throws to give the Hilltoppers a 5 point advantage with 58.7 remaining. The Roadrunners wouldn’t go away as Keaton Wallace drained a three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining.

Taveion Hollingsworth drew a foul and went to the line with 29.6 seconds remaining. He hit both free throws and it was a 4 point game. Jackson would miss the ensuing three-pointer sending Hollingsworth to the line in great shape.

He would miss both free throws and Wallace would miss the ensuing three-pointer but UTSA got awarded the ball with 5 seconds left down by four. Jared Savage foolishly Jackson on an immediate three-point attempt. He would drill the first two attempts but miss rim as he intentionally was trying to miss the last free throw.

WKU inbounded the ball to Savage and he’d go to the line with 0.9 seconds remaining hitting both as WKU would escape San Antonio with a 77–73 Overtime victory to move to 18–8 (11–3 in Conference USA).

Here are some thoughts on today’s stressful road victory.

• WKU won the game at the free-throw line. Their bread and butter statistic of free-throw margin proved large in this one as WKU racked up a 25–10 margin in free throws made shooting 78.1% from the charity stripe.
• Jared Savage had the best game of his Hilltopper career, scoring 24 and grabbing an impressive 16 rebounds with just one total turnover. Half of those points came on three-point attempts and he made 8 of 9 at the line. His toughness and consistency are the biggest reason that WKU has won 11 of 14 games in CUSA without Bassey.
• Jhivvan Jackson & Keaton Wallace combined for 52 of the Road Runners 73 points (71.23%). It took them 25 shots to get there. WKU let them get theirs but Jacob Germany (10 points) was the only other Road Runner that put up more than 5 points. The Road Runners' lack of a supporting cast continues to be their downfall.
• Taveion Hollingsworth finished off his spectacular road trip with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. He once again was the player that Stansbury wanted to have the ball at the end of the game and he backed that up with several clutch buckets down the stretch. If he can perform at that level in the tournament then this team has a great chance to break the NCAA less streak this March.
• WKU won the rebounding battle 42–41 and the turnover margin 12–8, combine those with the free throw margin you’d expect the Tops to blow out UTSA but with their cold-shooting (36.5%) it helped them survive.
• Josh Anderson still wasn’t 100% after being sick but he played solid defense on Jackson and Wallace for long stretches and made all six of his free throws.
• Jordan Rawls had 0 turnovers to go along with 10 points and 3 rebounds. He wasn’t spectacular but was very solid for a freshman point guard.
• Carson Williams was very quiet until overtime as he had just four points in regulation. His 8 rebounds also helped but this road trip is evidence that big teams can neutralize him on certain nights.
• North Texas won easily over ODU today and clinched the #1 seed in bonus play. WKU still controls its own destiny for the regular-season conference title (and #1 seed in CUSA tournament) but will have to go to Denton and finish with a better record over the last four games to win the conference (and the guaranteed NIT bid that goes with it).
• Here are the top two pods in CUSA. WKU will travel to UNT and FIU while hosting Louisiana Tech and Charlotte in bonus play.

WKU’s next game will be in Conference USA bonus play. We won’t know the Hilltoppers schedule and tv assignments until they are announced tomorrow. We’ll be providing coverage of the announcement but for now, let's savor a great road trip and celebrate how far this team has come since Bassey’s injury. A Conference Title and top seed are still on the table if WKU finishes strong over the next three weeks.

Here are your final stats from today’s gritty road win.