Tops fall short in exhibition loss to Hoosiers
Published 7:54 pm Sunday, October 25, 2026
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Western Kentucky redshirt junior guard Teagan Moore brings the ball upcourt against Indiana during the Hilltoppers’ 79-74 exhibition loss Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
(WKU ATHLETICS)
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Western Kentucky sophomore guard Armelo Boone drives to the goal against Indiana during the Hilltoppers’ 79-74 exhibition loss Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
(WKU ATHLETICS)
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Western Kentucky sophomore forward Moussa Konare goes up for a shot against Indiana during the Hilltoppers’ 79-74 exhibition loss Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
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Western Kentucky senior forward Emondrek Erkins-Ford celebrates after a basket against Indiana during the Hilltoppers’ 79-74 exhibition loss Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
(WKU ATHLETICS)
Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team battled with Indiana, but eventually fell 79-74 in its final preseason exhibition on Sunday evening at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
The Hilltoppers led for nearly 28 minutes in the contest, but the Hoosiers – who entered the game with a pair of blowout preseason wins over Butler and North Carolina – edged WKU late in the five-point decision. WKU fell to 1-1 in preseason play with the result, despite a 30-point effort from Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year Teagan Moore and double-digit scoring performances from Armelo Boone and Sharron Young, who had 13 and 10 points, respectively.
“We really do coach-speak a little bit going into the games – these exhibitions – because it’s really not about winning and losing, but everybody’s a very, very competitive monster,” WKU coach Hank Plona said in a news release. “There’s nobody on this court that wanted to lose. When we play a three-on-three game on a Tuesday in June in Gym A on campus in Diddle when nobody’s there – they play to win now. We play to win with everything we do. That was a great experience for our team. Obviously a lot to learn from, but for sure a lot of things that, if we’re able to have that intensity and to play with that togetherness and toughness and resiliency and grit, we can do a lot of good things.
“Our team has a long way to go. I think Tuesday versus Bowling Green showed a lot of things that we probably know we have issues with that we’ve got to keep getting better at. I thought we knew we could battle today and I thought that was a very good effort from our guys. Obviously a lot of execution we’ve got to get better at, but, man, a lot of guys stepped up, showed they’re not scared, battled, played together and that’s really what you want from these things.”
WKU got on the board first with a 3-pointer from Emondrek Erkins-Ford and followed with a strong finish at the rim from Boone to take a 5-0 lead. WKU held Indiana off the board for the first 4:15 and carried the 5-2 lead into the first media timeout.
The Hilltoppers extended its lead to five out of the break with a layup from Moussa Konare, but the Hoosiers followed with a 6-0 run with a pair of 3-pointers to take its first lead of the game, 8-7, with 13:53 to play in the first half. WKU outscored Indiana 5-1 with a Young layup and Moore layup to lead 12-9 at the under-12 timeout in the first half.
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Indiana went on an 8-0 run out of the second media timeout to take a 17-12 lead and force the Hilltoppers to call a timeout with 9:22 remaining in the half. Boone ended the run with a pair of makes to make it a one-point game, but an Indiana 3-pointer pushed the Hoosiers back ahead 20-16 heading into the under-8 minute timeout.
WKU went on a 12-0 run that included a pair of free throws from LJ Hackman, two 3-pointers from Moore, a fast-break layup from Boone and another couple of free throws from EJ Walker to take a 28-20 lead with 5:09 remaining in the period. The Hoosiers responded with a 7-0 run of their own heading into the final media break of the first half to make it 28-27 in favor of WKU during the timeout with 3:38 on the clock.
The Hilltoppers outscored the Hoosiers 9-8 during the remainder of the half, in part thanks to a halfcourt buzzer-beater from Moore – his fourth 3-pointer of the half – after a steal from Boone that gave WKU a 37-35 lead at the intermission.
Hackman started the second-half scoring with a layup, before a three-point play from Moore and a Konare layup put the Hilltoppers ahead, 44-35, with 17:33 remaining. The Hoosiers used a three-point play to make it a 44-38 game at the first media timeout of the second half.
Following the timeout, Young made a 3-pointer that kickstarted a 7-2 run that pushed WKU’s lead to 11 – its largest of the game at that point – at 51-40 with 14:31 to play. Indiana cut the deficit to five shortly thereafter, but WKU pushed it back to eight at 56-48 leading into the under-12 timeout.
The Hilltoppers managed just one point between the under-12 and under-8 media timeouts, but remained in front, 57-54, when the latter of the two breaks took place.
Indiana connected on a 3-pointer with 5:39 remaining to draw the score even 63-63 – marking the first time WKU hadn’t led in the second half – but WKU quickly responded with a pair of made free throws from Moore to push the redshirt junior to 29 points for the game, which would be a career high had it not been an exhibition contest. The Hoosiers quickly re-tied the game with a jumper, but Boone put the Hilltoppers back ahead with a free throw at the 4:48 mark and with a play in which Indiana was called for goaltending. Indiana knocked down another 3-pointer to tie the game 68-all heading into the final media timeout with 3:34 remaining.
Indiana made a pair of free throws with 2:44 to play to take its first lead since Moore’s buzzer-beater at the end of the first half and followed with another quick layup to make it 72-68 and force WKU to call a timeout with 2:19 left.
The Hilltoppers struggled to score late, with the only field goal made after the final media break coming on a triple from Young with 1:23 left. Indiana created separation and eventually closed out the game, 79-74.
Moore led WKU with 30 points, adding four rebounds and one steal in 30 minutes. He shot 8-of-22 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, and made 10-of-11 free-throw attempts. His 30 points would have marked a career high and his first collegiate 30-point performance.
Boone finished with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, adding seven rebounds, four assists, five steals and one block in 32 minutes.
Young contributed 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including a 2-of-4 mark from 3-point range. He added two rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes.
Hackman pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with four points and three assists in 24 minutes. He made both of his free-throw attempts and did not commit a turnover.
Walker scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds in 25 minutes. He knocked down one 3-pointer and went 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Konare added six points on 3-of-7 shooting and two rebounds in 20 minutes.
Trevion LaBeaux contributed four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 17 minutes.
WKU’s starting lineup was Hackman, Boone, Moore, Walker and Erkins-Ford. Announced attendance for the exhibition was 7,522.
Twelve Hilltoppers saw action, with seven playing at least 20 minutes. WKU shot 36.9% from the field, making 24-of-65 attempts. The Hilltoppers went 8-of-20 from beyond the arc for a 40.0% mark and 18-of-25 from the free-throw line for 72.0%. The Hilltoppers scored 28 points in the paint and received 17 points from their bench.
WKU pulled down 39 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, and scored eight second-chance points.
The Hilltoppers forced 14 turnovers while committing 13 of their own, scoring 20 points off Indiana’s miscues. WKU recorded 10 steals. WKU scored 10 fast-break points and led for 27:52 of the contest.
The Hilltoppers host Morehead State for their season opener on Nov. 2. Tipoff at E.A. Diddle Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
