Losing late leads have been the story of the WKU men’s basketball team season recently. However, the Hilltoppers held on to their lead in the closing moments of Saturday’s conference match up with North Texas, winning 81-76.  

The Toppers were able to secure a three point lead heading in to halftime thanks in large part to the play of veteran members of the team. Senior forward Nigel Snipes put up nine points in 11 minutes in the first half.

Junior guard Chris Harrison-Docks and sophomore forward Justin Johnson each added nine points of their own.

Junior forward Anton Waters went perfect form the field going three for three and scoring seven points in the half.

The Hilltoppers poured in seven-straight points in just over a minute to take a 60-51 lead at the under-12:00 media timeout in the second half. The Hilltoppers hit four straight shots, capped by a Harrison-Docks three-pointer.

WKU managed to get a nine point lead over UNT but allowed the Mean Green to creep back within two before all was said and done. Senior guard Aaron Cosby went 3-5 from the floor in the second half and accounted for 16 points in the half.

Cosby played well down the stretch as UNT continued to foul in hopes of tightening the lead. The graduate transfer went 9-10 from the free throw line in the final twenty minutes to help seal the deal.  

The Mean Green managed to make it an exciting game as they got it close near the end, but strategic substitutions on offense and defense for the Hilltoppers led the way to the victory.

Junior guard Fredrick Edmond played a significant role in the win for WKU as the guard played 33 minutes on the evening. He played most of his minutes at the point guard position, filling the stat sheet with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

The Hilltoppers improve to 10-8 on the season and 2-3 in conference play as UNT falls to 7-11 on the season.

WKU is 1-1 halfway through their four-game road trip and will look to improve on that when they head to Norfolk, Virginia to take on Old Dominion on Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.