Adin Parks

Forward Rodney Howard, right, goes up for a layup in the Diddle arena on Saturday, Feb 3. WKU won 88-65.

Things that come in sets of ten: dimes in a dollar, commandments, and home wins for the Hilltoppers as they took down the Middle Tennessee State Raiders on Saturday, 88-65.   

In the 145th edition of the ‘100 Miles of Hate’, the Hilltoppers claimed their 10th home win of the season advancing them to 15-7 and shooting them back up to .500 in conference play.

First Half

After falling behind early in the game, the Hilltoppers went on an 11-0 run to erase the seven-point lead the Blue Raiders took in the first three minutes. The charge was led by WKU’s Dontaie Allen and Rodney Howard.  

Howard and Allen rode the high of their previous games in the first half with each of them having 14 and 10 respectively.

Howard’s 17 points against Sam Houston were the highest point total that he has had since February of 2022, while Allen’s 30-piece versus Florida International marked a career-high for the Senior. 

MTSU senior guard, Jalen Johnson, played a major role in Blue Raider’s ability to keep the game close through the first half. The Georgia native had 16 first half points, more points than he’s had in any game since the end of November. 

The Hilltoppers went into the half tied with MTSU, 38-38.

Team First Half Statistics: 

WKU: 14-31 FG, 2-9 3FG, 8-8 FT | 16 Rebounds: 12 Defensive, four Offensive.

MTSU: 13-32 FG, 8-20 3FG, 4-6 FT | 18 Rebounds: 13 Defensive, five Offensive.

Second Half

You know what they say… If you want something done right, do it yourself. Don McHenry, WKU’s leading scorer, opened the second half on fire. The junior guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin singlehandedly led the team on a 17-6 run, a stark contrast from the single layup that concluded his first-half scoring resume. 

During that phenomenal run of form, McHenry found a way to put almost everything in the basket. During his eight-minute run, McHenry went 5-7 from the field, including 80% shooting from three-point land on his five attempts. 

“Yeah, just knowing that I had to help my teammates out, like, first half I caught some dumb fouls and things like that, but I was kind of, like, not engaged with my teammates,” McHenry said. “I knew I had to help in some way, I had to cheer them on, and I had to have a good second half and I gotta be talking and I gotta be active out there.”

Yet, when the Blue Raiders figured out a way to snuff McHenry’s flame, the Hilltoppers still found a way to score. 

Through just the first eleven minutes of the second half, the Hilltoppers stretched the previous tied margin into an 18-point lead. While WKU was assisted by eight trips to the charity stripe, they cashed in on seven of those attempts to pair with their 10-15 shooting, including a 4-7 performance from the field. 

Ultimately, the efficiency of the Hilltopper offense would be too much from the Blue Raiders. WKU moved to 10-1 at home with the explosive win. 

“I thought that it (the second half) was one of our better halves, I believe other than fouling them and letting them get a couple of free throws,” Coach Lutz said. “I think we stopped them two out of 17 or 18 possessions. That’s very good”

Full Game Statistics:

WKU: 31-62 FG, 8-19 3FG, 18-22 FT | 34 Rebounds: 23 Defensive, 11 Offensive.

MTSU: 22-66 FG, 11-44 3FG, 10-12 FT | 38 Rebounds: 29 Defensive, nine Offensive.

The Hilltoppers have a few days of rest before a two-game road stint at Louisiana Tech, who sits first in the conference, and Jacksonville State, a team that WKU has already defeated at home.