Poor shooting and a slow start plagued WKU Men’s Basketball Saturday as the Hilltoppers dropped to 1-1 in CUSA play at FIU with an 85-66 loss.
Head Coach Hank Plona’s offense suffered an early scoring slump, allowing a quick 11- 0 run in the early stages of the first half. With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the Panthers had a 26-9 lead and led 52-29 at halftime.
The Panthers shot 50% from three while the Hilltoppers went just 4-22 from downtown. WKU couldn’t take advantage of the field either, shooting just 37%.
The Hilltoppers forced 25 turnovers, resulting in 23 points, but gave up 20, resulting in 24 points.
The Panthers had 41 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive, to the Hilltoppers 27.
Freshman guard Julius Thedford led the way for WKU, scoring 18 points in 25 minutes.
First Half
After scoring first thanks to a Thedford free-throw, the Hilltoppers allowed an 11-point run by the Panthers. Thedford ended the run with a layup with 16:30 to go in the half. At the first media timeout, the Hilltoppers trailed 11-3.
The Panthers led 22-7 going into the second media timeout. The Hilltoppers’ shooting struggles continued, as they went 0-5 from three and 27% from the field.
At the eight-minute media timeout, the Hilltoppers trailed 33-16, plagued partly by the Panthers going 10-10 from the free-throw line.
With four minutes left in the half, the Hilltoppers cut the lead to 39-23. The Panthers continued shooting well, going 41% from three and 33% from the field.
Entering halftime the Panthers led 52-29. The Hilltoppers gave up 10 turnovers and the Panthers went 14-16 from the free-throw line.
Tyrone Marshall Jr. and Thedford led the Hilltoppers in scoring, each with seven. Asim Jones led the Panthers in scoring with 12.
Second Half
With 14 minutes left, the Panthers led 65-41. The Hilltoppers shot 2-15 from three and just 39% from the field.
The Panthers maintained their lead 70-45 with 11 minutes to go in the second half.
With eight minutes to go the Panthers had forced seven Hilltopper turnovers in the second half alone, leading 73-47.
Heading into the final media timeout the Panthers led 81-58. FIU rode their double-digit lead to a 85-66 victory.
Sports Reporter Nathan Mueller can be reached at [email protected].
