Jim Mashek

WKU’s McHENRY, NEWMAN SHOULDER THE SCORING LOAD IN VICTORY OVER GAMECOCKS

First-year Western Kentucky coach Steve Lutz has given junior point guard Don McHenry the car keys.

And Brandon Newman is always ready to ride shotgun, giving the Hilltoppers a steady 1-2 punch in the backcourt.

Newman, the redshirt senior transfer from Purdue University, and McHenry, a former junior college star from Milwaukee, carried the Tops to a decisive 80-69 victory over Jacksonville State University on Saturday evening before a crowd of 4,580 at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

After a lackluster first half, when Jax State guard Kyky Tandy — a transfer from Xavier University who hails from Hopkinsville — was lighting up the Tops, Western Kentucky found the defensive resolve to turn the game in its favor, as the Hilltoppers cruised to victory over the Conference USA newcomer.

The Tops improved to 13-4 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA, remaining unbeaten in eight home games. They did their customary “Diddle Lap” when the task at hand was complete, heading into a two-game road swing against the C-USA’s two Mountain Time Zone members, New Mexico State and UTEP. Jacksonville State dropped to 10-8 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

“We kind of let Tandy pick us apart (in the first half),” Newman said. “He’s a really good player. It takes a whole team to stop him.”

Along those lines, Lutz used several WKU players — McHenry, Newman, senior guard Khristian Lander and versatile swingman Tyrone Marshall — to match up against Tandy, the conference’s leading scorer averaging 19 points per game. After some shaky defensive moments in Wednesday’s loss to Sam Houston State, a 78-74 setback in Huntsville, Texas, the Hilltoppers allowed Tandy and the Gamecocks to shoot 68 percent from the field — and 62 percent from the 3-point line — in the first half on Saturday.

That all changed, in a hurry, after the break.

“It took us a little bit of time to adjust,” Lutz said. “At the end of the day, I thought our defensive intensity, and our rebounding, was a lot better (in the second half).”

Brandon Newman may have had his best game since joining the Hilltoppers, leading WKU with a team-high 25 points, along with four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 36 minutes.

“I’ve always believed Brandon was going to come into his own, offensively,” Lutz said.

Don McHenry, limited to 26 minutes because of foul trouble, added 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Former WKU coach Ray Harper, in his eighth season at Jacksonville State, relied heavily on Kyky Tandy, who needed 21 shots to lead the Gamecocks with 25 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jax State shot just 30 percent from the field in the second half, while hitting just 1 of 10 shots from 3-point range.

“I was pretty rested in the second half,” McHenry said with a grin.

McHenry and Newman were encouraged by another good crowd at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers won’t play at home again until January 25, when they face C-USA opponent Florida International.

“Anytime you can win all your home games and at least split your road games, you’re putting yourself in position to be fairly successful,” Lutz said.

Tandy gave the Tops all sorts of problems in the first half, spotting up for deft 3-pointers and driving the lane to create opportunities for his teammates. But the Gamecocks struggled at the free-throw line, hitting just 11 of 19 foul shots, while WKU finished with a whopping 38-28 rebounding advantage.

“Collectively, we did a pretty good job on (Tandy) in the second half,” Lutz said. “We did a better job of keeping them out of the paint … Don (McHenry) just has to be a little more decisive, defensively. He came off the bench and was ready to go.”

WKU finished with a 24-5 advantage in fast-break points, and the Hilltoppers shot 52 percent from the field — including a 7-of-12 showing (58 percent) from 3-point land — in the second half. There were 10 lead changes in the game, and four ties.

Lutz opened his press conference by checking on WBKO sports reporter Lauren Floyd, who sustained an apparent concussion while shooting the game from beyond the baseline. Lutz himself was walking with a limp, too, after straining a calf muscle in practice on Thursday.

“The guys have told me to toughen up,” Lutz said with a laugh.

WKU will tangle with first-year Conference USA member New Mexico State on Thursday night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.