Postgame: Tops 74 – Rebels 79

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

It’s like Kansas all over again.

It started off great. The first basket of the game, then all the way to a 13 point lead…then Ole Miss showed up and stole it.

In what was quite possibly the best game WKU has played this year, and has probably played since that Kansas game in the Tournament, the Tops fell just short of beating the SEC in a 2nd sport this year, and fell to Marshall Henderson and the Ole Miss Rebels 79-74.

Much like the Kansas loss, this one hurts. And probably will for quite sometime. But, also just like the Kansas loss, there is everything in the world to be proud of and look forward too. And, the benefit of this, is that the season isn’t over. The conference schedule is just about to begin.

Three Hilltoppers put up double digits, as TJ lead the way for all scorers with 26, and George contributed 13, along with 11 from Trency, and shot 43% beyond the ark (including a 6-10 night from Mr. Price). Fant also put racked up 14 rebounds, leading all players, to notch a double double.

The opening 10 minutes of the game were beautiful. It seemed like everything…well, every other thing…was going to fall, and WKU looked as cool and calm as ever. But, once Ole Miss got rolling, they were too much, and once WKU looked to take another solid lead, Marshall Henderson would drain a three to put life back into the Rebels.

The thing that stings the most is Henderson didn’t even lead Ole Miss on the scoresheet – Jarvis Summers’ 24 points narrowly beat out the 23 from Henderson.

The numbers, in nearly every facet, equate to how close of a game this truly was. Ole Miss shot 5% better from the floor, made 5 more field goals. WKU hit more threes, and more free throws. Points off turnovers were separated by a single basket, as were 2nd chance points. WKU won total, offensive and defensive rebounds, creating opportunities, but especially during the final stretch, were unable to finish off and couldn’t claw back for a win.

While a win would have been ideal, this is the best way I can think of for the Tops to head into conference play – with a chip on their shoulder, the best game they’ve played this year, and games with South Al are always fun.

While it’s hard to after a loss, tonight of all nights, stand up and cheers Tops fans. They played hard, and they deserve our support.