Senior guard Enoch Kalambay’s career-high 24 points were not enough Thursday night as Jacksonville State defeated WKU Men’s Basketball 73-67.

WKU’s Leading scorer, senior guard Don McHenry, was held to eight points on 3-15 shooting and 0-4 from three. This led to Kalambay stepping up for the Hilltoppers. He shot 50% from three-point range and made all seven of his free throw attempts.

As a team, WKU shot just 33% from the field in the game, making just 21 field goals. With the loss, WKU dropped their second straight game and second home game. They have been held to 70 points or less in three of their last four games.

After a defensive first half which saw both teams score under 30 points, the Gamecocks more than doubled their first half point total, scoring 49 second half points to steal a win on the road and its first-ever win against WKU. 

While the Gamecocks only forced two WKU turnovers, the JSU defense held WKU to just eight made three pointers. They scored 24 points in the paint and had 12 second-chance points. 

The Hilltoppers shot 9-30 from the field in the first half and 3-10 from three-point territory. They led for the majority of the half partially due to the minimal mistakes, with only one turnover.

The Gamecocks hung around in the first half thanks to their defense. Despite shooting just 1-12 from three-point territory and only knocking down 11 field goals, JSU outrebounded WKU on the defensive glass 20-15 and 8-1 on the offensive glass in the half. They held the Hilltoppers to zero second chances and zero bench points

The Gamecocks rebounded in the second half, shooting 56.7% from the field in the second half. They made 13 free throws and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds in the second half to help pull away late in the game.

The Hilltoppers will look to get back in the CUSA win column Saturday, Jan. 11 at home against Kennesaw State. 

First Half

The Gamecocks won the jump ball. They jumped to an early 8-7 lead, with their guard Quel’ron House scoring six of their eight points. The teams traded leads through the middle of the first half, with the largest lead being a 16-13 lead for WKU.

The teams went on a drought at the 8:25 mark as no points were scored for nearly two minutes. A McHenry jumper gave WKU a 27-22 lead with 2:27 remaining, but the Gamecocks answered with a minute remaining. The two teams went to halftime after a low-scoring first half 27-24.

Second Half

JSU opened up scoring to start the second half. After trading the lead back and forth with the Hilltoppers, the Gamecocks extended their lead to nine with an 8-0 run. 

Leading 61-51 with four minutes remaining in the game, WKU clawed back, bringing it to a four-point game with 25 seconds remaining. However, JSU knocked down two free throws and kept WKU scoreless for the final 25 seconds to hang on for the 73-67 win.

Sports Reporter Michael Givner Jr. can be reached at [email protected].