WKU Men’s Basketball (12-11, CUSA 4-8) ended their five game losing streak by defeating the UTSA Roadrunners (7-17, CUSA 1-12) 81-74 on Thursday, Feb. 2 at E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU dealt with a smaller roster in the win. Sixth year senior guard Luke Frampton and senior guard Jordan Rawls were both out at the start of the game. Additionally, junior guard Dayvion Mcknight went out in the second half with a toe injury.

“Well, I’m proud of the way our guys responded to adversity tonight,” Head Coach Rick Stansbury said. “ We had to do it a different way tonight and these guys deserve a lot of credit.” 

Redshirt junior guard Dontaie Allen put in a career performance in his first start as a Hilltopper. Allen had an impressive 22 points in the victory. He also gathered in seven boards and three assists.

“His stats coming into this game weren’t great, but we all know he’s very capable,” Stansbury said. “He kept playing and he really didn’t miss shots.”

Sixth year senior Emmanuel Akot also had a great game. The guard had 17 points and seven rebounds. He also tallied five assists against UTSA.

WKU struggled out of the gate. The Hilltoppers couldn’t get their shots to fall in the first four minutes as the Roadrunners took an early 12-6 lead. 

WKU was finally able to get their offense going with a 8-2 Hilltopper run to cut the UTSA lead down to three, 21-18. However, the Roadrunners quickly responded to the Hilltopper pressure. 

UTSA went on a four minute, 9-2 run to widen their lead to 10, 30-20. WKU would not back down to the 10 point deficit. The Hilltoppers went on a 10-3 run to cut down the UTSA lead to one, headed into halftime, 40-39. 

Both teams started off hot in the second half. WKU took the lead on an 8-3 run, but UTSA responded with a 4-0 run of their own to tie it at 47. 

WKU began to take control of the ball game. An Emmanuel Akot three got the crowd to their feet and capped off a 9-2 Hilltopper run to make it 57- 49. However, the Roadrunners yet again shift the momentum in the contest. 

An 11-1 UTSA run put the Roadrunners back on top 64-62 with seven minutes left to play. Despite the UTSA lead, the Hilltoppers proved to be too much for UTSA. WKU finished the ball game on a 19 -10 run to take the win. 

WKU will look to get on a two game winning streak when they face the UTEP Miners Saturday Feb. 4 at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Sports reporter Jake McMahon can be reached at [email protected] .