Tops’ rally falls short in 97-94 loss to Tennessee Tech
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Western Kentucky sophomore forward EJ Walker shoots a free throw against Tennessee Tech during the Hilltoppers’ 97-94 loss Sunday in Cookeville, Tennessee.
(THOMAS CORHERN / TTU Athletics)
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Western Kentucky redshirt junior guard Teagan Moore (30) goes up for a shot against Tennessee Tech during the Hilltoppers’ 97-94 loss Sunday in Cookeville, Tennessee.
(THOMAS CORHERN / TTU Athletics)
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Western Kentucky sophomore guard Armelo Boone (right) looks to pass against Tennessee Tech during the Hilltoppers’ 97-94 loss Sunday in Cookeville, Tennessee.
(THOMAS CORHERN/ TTU Athletics)
Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team cut a 15-point second-half deficit to three but fell to Tennessee Tech, 97-94, on Sunday afternoon at the Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tennessee.
WKU (2-1) got on the scoreboard first with a 3-pointer from Teagan Moore before an EJ Walker free throw gave the Hilltoppers a 4-0 lead. Tennessee Tech answered with a triple, but a Moore jumper and a Sharron Young 3-pointer pushed WKU’s advantage to 9-3 with 17:55 remaining in the half.
The Golden Eagles knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game before a fast-break layup from Trevion LaBeaux put the Hilltoppers back in front. The teams traded baskets, with a Gabe Weis jumper giving WKU a 13-12 lead with 14:00 to play. Tennessee Tech answered with another 3 before two LJ Hackman free throws tied the game, 15-15, with 12:47 on the clock.
Tennessee Tech (2-1) used three consecutive 3-pointers to put together a 9-0 run and take a 24-15 lead with 11:22 remaining. LaBeaux ended the run with a pair of free throws, but the Golden Eagles scored four straight to push their advantage to 11. Emondrek Erkins-Ford followed with four free throws before an Armelo Boone jumper capped a 6-0 WKU run to cut the deficit to five, 28-23, with 8:22 to play.
The Golden Eagles connected from beyond the arc before Boone answered with a layup to bring WKU within six with 7:38 remaining. Tennessee Tech later knocked down two 3-pointers around a Moussa Konare layup to build a 39-29 lead with 3:43 on the clock. Konare finished at the rim before a Hackman three-point play trimmed the deficit to five with 2:46 left.
Tennessee Tech made three free throws before Moore and Hackman each connected on a pair at the line to bring the Hilltoppers within four, 42-38, with 1:41 remaining. The Golden Eagles outscored WKU 8-3 over the remainder of the half, knocking down two 3-pointers in the final minute around a Boone jumper to take a 50-41 lead into the intermission.
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Tennessee Tech opened the second-half scoring with two free throws before a Walker dunk brought WKU within nine. The teams traded baskets before layups from Boone and Erkins-Ford cut the deficit to seven, 56-49, with 16:43 remaining. A Moore three-point play later brought the Hilltoppers within five, 59-54, with 14:45 to play. The Golden Eagles answered with a 3-pointer, but Hackman and Moore each made a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to four, 62-58, with 13:45 on the clock.
Tennessee Tech pushed its lead back to 10 with 11:53 remaining and continued to build its advantage, taking its largest lead of the game, 83-68, with 7:57 to play.
Moore and Young each made two free throws before Tennessee Tech scored three straight points to take an 86-72 lead with 5:22 remaining. WKU responded with a 10-0 run that included layups from Boone and Young, a Weis jumper, another Young basket and a Moore jumper to cut the deficit to four, 86-82, with 2:56 to play.
Tennessee Tech answered with a 3-pointer and two free throws before Boone scored to bring WKU within seven with 1:45 remaining. The Golden Eagles knocked down another triple, but a Weis 3-pointer and a Boone layup cut the deficit to five, 94-89, with 52 seconds left.
Following a Tennessee Tech free throw, Weis finished a fast-break layup to make it a four-point game with 25 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles added two free throws before Moore made one at the line and Hackman connected on two of three attempts with two seconds left, but the Hilltoppers’ comeback fell short, 97-94.
“A very challenging game, and one that, I tell you, I personally expected to be exactly what it was today,” WKU coach Hank Plona said in a news release. “I think I just said on the radio, when you play a team that says Indiana across the front of their jersey, I think you know that every single play can get you. It seemed like it took us a while to realize that, even though it says Tennessee Tech on the front of their jersey, every single play could get us. And then we were kind of on our heels and playing that way all day. Obviously, they play a very unique style. They’re great players. They’re a very good basketball team. And that’s what we need. We need to be in these situations to get better and to continue to improve.
“This will be an incomplete. Obviously, you never want to lose, but you got to learn from winning. But at the same time, if we’re able to get better from this and it prepares us, and kind of in mid-December we think that this experience helped us, then we do have a chance to be a special team. If we put our heads down and sulk and this turns into something worse than that, then we’re really not made of too much.”
Three Hilltoppers scored in double figures. Moore led the way with 22 points, Hackman added 17 off the bench and Boone finished with 14.
Moore recorded a double-double with 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, becoming the first Hilltopper this season to record double-digit rebounds. He shot 6-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and went 9-of-11 at the free-throw line. He added an assist and a block in 29 minutes.
Hackman scored a season-high 17 points in 23 minutes off the bench, setting Division I career highs in free throws made and attempted with a 13-of-14 performance at the line. He went 2-of-4 from the field and added a rebound.
Boone finished with a season-high 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, adding eight rebounds, three assists and a block in 31 minutes.
Young finished with nine points and a team-high five assists against no turnovers in 29 minutes. He went 3-of-8 from the field, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, and added a rebound and a steal.
Weis scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a 1-of-2 mark from 3-point range, in 14 minutes off the bench. He added a rebound, a block and a steal.
LaBeaux contributed eight points, three rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes off the bench. He shot 2-of-4 from the field and made all four of his free-throw attempts.
Konare scored six points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance and added two rebounds and a team-high two blocks in 16 minutes off the bench.
WKU attempted 45 free throws, its most in a game since also attempting 45 in a 100-86 win over Nicholls on Nov. 19, 2017. The Hilltoppers finished 33-of-45 (73.3%) at the line, while Tennessee Tech went 26-of-39 (66.7%).
WKU shot 47.5% from the field, connecting on 29-of-61 attempts, compared to Tennessee Tech’s 26-of-58 (44.8%) performance.
The Hilltoppers outscored the Golden Eagles 44-14 in the paint.
WKU’s bench contributed 40 points to Tennessee Tech’s 18, led by Hackman’s 17.
The Hilltoppers scored 22 points off 17 Tennessee Tech turnovers, while the Golden Eagles scored 11 points off WKU’s 15 turnovers.
WKU held a 16-10 advantage in fast-break points.
The Hilltoppers grabbed 12 offensive rebounds to Tennessee Tech’s 10.
WKU outscored Tennessee Tech 53-47 in the second half, shooting 54.5% from the field during the period.
The Hilltoppers return home for a matchup with Campbellsville on Wednesday. Tipoff at E.A. Diddle Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
