WKU Basketball: Trojans Shoot Toppers Out of Diddle, WKU Falls 87–81
It was the return of Lamonte Bearden, the first game Jeremiah Gambrell was suited up for and the first game without Desean Murray, so it’d be the turn of a new leaf for the Hilltoppers, right?
Well, not exactly. While the first half did feel a lot more comfortable on offense with Bearden back running the point, the absence of Murray wasn’t super noticeable (maybe one of the reasons why he departed the program) and the Hilltoppers played a putrid second half as the Troy Trojans left Diddle Arena with an 87–81 win on Sunday.
The Tops and Trojans played a competitive first half, in which neither team never led by more than five mostly thanks in part to a couple of long runs — one of 9–0 and another of 11–0 — by Troy to ensure WKU never blew the game open and they eventually took a 43–40 into halftime.
The second half was a different story altogether. Troy opened the half up on a 13–0 run, leading to an early timeout from Rick Stansbury and the Tops’ first points of the back 20 minutes didn’t come until nearly five minutes into the half.
It felt a lot like the second half of the Missouri State game; WKU wasn’t playing incredibly well, despite shooting 42.9% from the floor, while Troy was lights out, shooting 54.1% from the floor and 48% from three alone.
WKU made it interesting in the closing minutes, making it a one-score game on a couple of occasions, but couldn’t ever get the final bucket they needed to tie or come any closer to taking a lead.
The story of this game is really that simple — the defense was lacking, the second-half effort wasn’t there and the shot selection when the lead began to grow for Troy became porous, especially from guys like Taveion Hollingsworth and Jared Savage (who wound up having a pretty strong game).
Final Thoughts
- Bearden was a welcome sight back on the floor. Just his presence seemed to help guide the offense to looking better. Bearden finished with 12 points, two rebounds and five assists.
- Dalano Banton still occupied the backup point guard spot in Bearden’s return. Good.
- Savage turned in the quietest 23 point game I can remember. He also added seven rebounds, five of which came on the defensive glass.
- Bassey wasn’t “quiet,” because everyone is aware when he’s on the floor, but it didn’t feel like he had 18 points. He also was a rebound shy of a double-double.
- A disappointing loss that doesn’t set up future matchups with the likes of Belmont or ODU very enticingly. I don’t know what the answer for consistency is, but someone needs to come up with it and fast.
Final Stats
