WKU Men’s Basketball triumphed over the Liberty Flames at Diddle Arena Saturday, 70-68, to claim their eighth consecutive home victory and start their conference play 1-0.

In their first game as a C-USA member, the Flames traveled to Bowling Green to take on the Hilltoppers, for the very first time, in the inaugural C-USA matchup of the 2023-2024 season. 

First Half

Defense was the focus from both teams in the first half, as the two teams combined for 67 points, with WKU having the one-point advantage, 34-33.

In what seems like a common occurrence at this point in the season, junior guard Don McHenry led the Hilltopper offense through the first 20 minutes. In his 19 first half minutes, McHenry had 13 points on 6-9 shooting.

The Flames attempted to go through their All-Conference Forward Kyle Rode, but junior guard Kaden Metheny led the Flames with nine points and four assists in the half.

Team First Half Statistics: 

WKU: 14-32 FG, 4-12 3FG, 2-2 FT | 18 Rebounds: 15 Defensive, three Offensive.

APSU: 13-32 FG, 5-17 3FG, 2-4 FT | 19 Rebounds: 15 Defensive, four Offensive.

Second Half

It was redshirt-senior guard Dontaie Allen with the hot hand in the second half. The Kentucky transfer had eight points and six rebounds. The Hilltopper defense is to credit for the win, as they held the Flames to 2-16 shooting in the midst of an eight minute field goal drought during the middle stages of the second half.

Zach Cleveland was the standout for the Flames. Cleveland’s 23 points, 16 of which came in the second half,  paired with his seven rebounds and one assist on the night. This was followed by Rode, who had 15 on 4-19 shooting. 

When asked about starting the conference season in the win column, WKU Head Coach Steve Lutz credited their defense’s ability to settle in in the later stages.

“As we settled into the game, I thought we did a much better job at staying attached to their shooters,” Coach Lutz said. “With that being said, they did miss some open looks there at the end.”

It was one particular look that sealed the fate of this game. With three seconds left, the Flames’ Brody Peebles attempted what would have been the game-winning three. 

However, after grabbing the rebound off the Peebles miss, Metheny opted to rush to the corner and try for the win instead of taking a mildly contested put-back layup to send the game to overtime. 

Dontaie Allen chose to look to the future of what this team could be.

“You know, I mean, it’s nice obviously, for us to get the first win this year,” Allen said. “But at the end of the day, like our job is not finished.”

The Hilltoppers will head to Huntsville, Texas on Wednesday to play the Sam Houston Bearkats at 6:30 PM CST. This game will be available on ESPN+