Freshman guard Kevin Kaspar and sophomore forward Stephon Drane will miss the remainder of the season due to knee injuries.

Kaspar tore his anterior cruciate ligament at the end of the first half of Saturday’s game against Arkansas-Little Rock as he took a shot at the buzzer. He fell to the ground and had to be helped off the court.

The injury was initially ruled a sprained knee, but the results of an MRI on Sunday revealed a torn ACL.

“This is tough news to hear about Kevin,” interim head coach Ray Harper said in a statement. “But knowing him and the type of kid and competitor he is, he will recover and be back stronger and better than ever.

“This is a minor setback in his career. Kevin has a great attitude and character, and I had just talked to him last week about how those attributes will carry him far in life and help him to be successful. His teammates will rally around him and be there for him as he recovers from this injury.”

Kaspar has started in nine out of WKU’s 20 games this season, averaging 18.6 minutes per game. He also averaged 5.5 points and nearly two rebounds per game.

He had this message to fans on Twitter on Sunday evening:

“Thanks for all the wishes. I promise that I will be back even stronger for next year. I hope my teammates will finish it up strong.”

Drane has been hobbled since September started with a strained posterior cruciate ligament and will seek a medical redshirt. He’s played just four minutes this season on Nov. 26 against Southeastern Louisiana after playing in 18 games during his freshman season.

“A medical redshirt is the best thing for Stephon at this point,” Harper said. “He will have three years remaining at WKU after this season, and he can spend the rest of this season and the offseason getting bigger and stronger and continuing to develop.

“Stephon has a very bright future ahead of him on the basketball court, and taking the time to fully recover from this injury is in his best interests.”

WKU now has three players that will miss the rest of the season, with junior guard Caden Dickerson sidelined after having shoulder surgery in December. Dickerson will also seek a medical redshirt.

All three players are expected to make a full recovery and be ready to play by the start of next season.