WKU basketball holds off FAU 71-68 to snap four game skid
It was another classic WKU basketball game, where a team comes into a game with a terrible record, and WKU plays down to their opponent making it much closer of a game than it ought to have been.
Florida Atlantic came into Diddle Arena this evening with a C-USA record of 1-13, and after one half of play the Owls led the Hilltoppers by three. WKU allowed FAU to shooting a whopping 50% from the floor in the first half, while not shooting well themselves (WKU 36% first half) allowed the underperforming C-USA team to steal the first half.
However it was the second half that got E.A. Diddle Arena rocking. The Hilltoppers came out of the halftime break with what seemed to be an entirely new intensity. The defense was changed, pressuring the ball in the full court, and forcing FAU turnovers and then converting those turnovers into points. With the change of heart intensity the Hilltoppers got their shots to fall as well, shooting a not too shabby 57.7% from the floor for the final half (47% overall on the night).
Coach Harper commented on the good shooting performance in the second half during the post game press conference.
"We practiced this week to not settle for the good shot, but to make the extra pass to find the great shot. And that is what we did tonight."
The boys in red were able to utilize their practice efforts and transfer it to tonight’s outing what I think was the turning point of the ball game. The Hilltoppers jumped out to an 18-2 run during the 14:46 to 8:27 marks of the second half, setting WKU up for the lead in the closing minutes that would carry them until the final buzzer.
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The Hilltopper’s main contributors were from the guys you want to see have the most impact, the seniors.
,
, and
each had 17 points. Freshman
even had a little stats action himself this evening, with him totaling six points along with leading the Tops in rebounding with seven.
With tonight’s win the Hilltoppers ended their four game losing skid, while adding to FAU’s now ten game losing stint. The win keeps the Tops tied in fourth place with Old Dominion in conference standings, two and a half games behind C-USA leader Louisiana Tech.
The Hilltoppers are back in action in Diddle Arena for Senior night on Saturday for their last home outing of the year. WKU hosts Florida International for the event, and Diddle Arena could be packed out, only having 1088 tickets remaining at the time of this post.