WKU Basketball sets program record in dominant win over Kentucky State
WKU senior center Jamarion Sharp (33) (right) celebrates WKU’s season opener win over Kentucky State University with assistant coach Marcus Grant in E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. WKU won 127-61.
November 12, 2022
WKU Men’s Basketball (2-0) walloped the NCAA Division II Kentucky State University Thorobreds (0-2) 127-61 in its home opener on Saturday night in Diddle Arena.
“We knew we were better than Kentucky State,” head coach Rick Stansbury said. “Our goal was to get better from this game. no matter what the score was, and our guys did that.”
Sixth-year transfer guard Emmanuel Akot played an outstanding game. He nearly had a triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the contest.
“I think I’m fitting in well. It’s only the second game so time will tell,” Akot said. “The way these guys give me confidence, the way the coaching staff gives me confidence, I think it’s going to be a great year.”
Sixth-year guard Luke Frampton led the team in scoring with 20 points, shooting 6-of-7 from deep. Fifth-year forward Jairus Hamilton dropped a double-double of his own with 18 points and 10 assists.
WKU shot an impressive 65% from three and 63% from the field. The team broke a program record by scoring 67 points in a half and had nine players score from behind the arc.
The Hilltoppers came out of the gate hot. A bucket from senior big man Jamarion Sharp got the Diddle Arena crowd rocking and capped off an early 11-0 run.
The Hilltoppers continued to dominate on both sides of the ball and took a 26-9 lead into the 12 minute media timeout. WKU continued to put on a show and came out of the timeout on another 11-0 run.
The Thorobreds started to gain some momentum late in the first half, but WKU still went into the break with a 31-point lead.
The Hilltoppers came out of halftime playing as well, if not better, than the first half. Instead of taking their foot of the gas, the Hilltoppers went on a 19-0 run. The Hilltoppers continued to pile it on and cracked triple digits with 10 minutes still left to play.
“It’s easy to play to that score when you’re up big,” Stansbury said. “We didn’t do that all night long. Our guys stayed focused, kept working defensively and that’s the thing I’m most pleased about.”
WKU started to slow down offensively towards the end but still put up a gaudy total of 127 points. In the second half the Hilltoppers shot 10-of-15 from three and scored 60 points in 20 minutes.
WKU will return to Diddle Arena on Tuesday against the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds at 7 p.m. CT.
