WKU Men’s Basketball was outscored 30-17 in the final 12 minutes of Tuesday night’s Bluegrass Battle at Kentucky, as the Hilltoppers fell to the Wildcats 87-68 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
WKU cut the Wildcat lead to 57-51 with 10 minutes to play in the second half, but Head Coach Hank Plona said “there were a couple of plays that we didn’t complete” which allowed a six-point deficit to slide to a 19-point loss.
“There’s some moments that we thought we could have maybe executed and completed a couple plays and tried to hang in there a little bit more,” Plona said. “All in all, (I’m) pleased with our fight, pleased with our resilience, pleased with our effort.”
Freshman guard Julius Thedford and senior forward Babacar Faye led WKU’s offense. Thedford led the team with 18 points on 5-14 shooting from the field. Faye had 16 on 5-7 shooting from the field.
“He’s a special player,” Plona said on Thedford. “He’s just going to keep getting better and better fast.”
Senior guard Don McHenry, who led the Hilltoppers in scoring headed into Lexington averaging 17.2 points per game, was held to nine points on 3-16 shooting from the field and 1-7 shooting from three.
UK’s 87 points is the second-lowest mark the Wildcats have been held to all season. UK came into the game shooting over 40% from three-point range but the Hilltoppers held the Wildcats to 26% from beyond the arc.
Like the Wildcats, the Hilltoppers’ 68 points scored was WKU’s second-lowest mark on the season. WKU shot 31% from the field and 15% from three, their worst three-point shooting percentage this season.
WKU will return to Diddle Arena Saturday to renew another rivalry, this time with the Marshall Thundering Herd. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
First Half
UK took a 9-7 lead into the first media timeout following a 5-2 run from WKU to open the game.
The Wildcats came out of the first media time out rolling, riding a 12-2 run to a 19-9 lead. However, WKU battled back, cutting the Wildcats lead to 19-16 with 12 minutes to play in the first half.
WKU stayed close midway through the half, keeping UK within six at the eight-minute mark, but the Wildcats took a 16-6 run to a 38-24 lead at the under-four timeout.
UK’s lead peaked at 41-25 before an 8-4 WKU run cut the Wildcat lead to 45-33 at halftime.
Thedford led Hilltopper scoring at halftime with eight points. WKU shot 30% from the field and 18% from three in the first half.
WKU held UK to 28.6% shooting from three in the half despite the 12-point deficit.
Second Half
UK opened the second half with four unanswered points, forcing a Plona timeout after a minute of game time. Following Plona’s timeout, WKU cut the UK lead to 52-41 with an 8-3 run.
The Hilltoppers continued to claw back, cutting the Wildcat lead to 57-51 with a Thedford and-1 at the 12-minute timeout.
However, UK responded. The Wildcats went on a 14-4 run, expanding their lead back to double-digits 71-55. WKU went three minutes without a field goal made during the UK run.
The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas until the end of regulation, defeating the Hilltoppers 87-68.
Sports Editor Jake McMahon can be reached at [email protected]
