WBKO – BOWLING GREEN, KY On Saturday in Diddle Arena, WKU men’s basketball defeated New Mexico State 72-58 in the team’s Senior Day game. The Hilltoppers have now won five straight games, improving their total record to 19-7 for the season and 8-4 in Conference USA league action.
Rodney Howard, Brandon Newman, and Dontaie Allen were honored on the court before tipoff during the team’s Senior Day ceremony on Saturday. At the ceremony, team managers Garrett Coughlin and Kyle Huber were also recognized.
In Saturday’s victory over the Aggies, WKU primarily depended on its bench players, as they scored 33 of the Tops’ 72 points overall from bench players.
Teagan Moore, a rookie, scored the most points of the group, going 4-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Following with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting, Enoch Kalambay added a team-high five rebounds, two assists, and a block.
On Saturday, five Hilltoppers attempted to score ten or more points. Babacar Faye scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting and 5 of 5 free-throw attempts. Howard and Don McHenry each had 10 points in the game.
With nine points apiece, Allen and Newman completed the scoring column.
It took until three minutes for either team to score when the Aggies made their first basket of the game, a three-pointer. With 16:32 left in the half, Allen answered with a successful three-point play to give WKU its first points of the game and tie the score at three points apiece.
Almost five minutes into the game, Newman’s triple from the top of the key gave WKU its first lead, 8–7. The Aggies responded, and Kalambay fooled an Aggie defender to find a simple baseline entrance to the hoop for a lay-in that tied the score at twelve points apiece. With 11:45 remaining, Jack Edelen scored a steal and found a wide-open Kalambay for the two, giving the Tops the lead once more.
With 8:41 remaining in the half, NM State scored a run to take a seven-point lead. Moore’s corner three cut the Red and White’s deficit to four points before the under-eight timeout. At 6:48 in the first, NM State made another three, bringing the Aggie lead to nine.
With 2:41 remaining in the half and in need of offensive production, Moore made contact while driving to the hoop, receiving the friendly roll and making the three-point play to reduce the lead to one possession. Moore’s fadeaway basket with just under a minute remaining in the half cut the lead to two, and McHenry’s steal with 25 seconds remaining gave WKU one last opportunity.