Jim Mashek

WKU STAYS UNBEATEN AT DIDDLE; LANDER REMAINS IN CONCUSSION PROTOCOL

Dontaie Allen wasted little time getting things going in a rare start for Western Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team on Thursday night.

With injured WKU guard Khristian Lander on the sideline in the concussion protocol, Allen, the slender 6-foot-6 senior from Falmouth, Kentucky, struck for a three-point play in the opening moments of the Hilltoppers’ game with Conference USA opponent Florida International University.

You might say he was just gettin’ warmed up.

Allen logged a team-high 33-plus minutes in Thursday’s game, exploding for a career-high 30 points in the Hilltoppers’ entertaining 105-91 victory over FIU before a crowd of 4,144 at E.A. Diddle Arena. The former University of Kentucky swingman was deadly from the perimeter, hitting five of seven shots from 3-point range while going 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.

“I just wanted to kind of pick my spots,” Allen said with a smile when it was over. “Yeah, I was in a ‘flow state.’ I was just having fun; not even thinking out there … playing unconscious.”

WKU erased a two-game losing streak, after disheartening road setbacks at New Mexico State and the University of Texas-El Paso. The Hilltoppers led UTEP by as many as 23 points in the second half on Saturday night in El Paso, Texas, before dropping a 93-87 decision. Their defense still left something to be desired against Florida International, but that hardly mattered with Allen leading a brigade of five WKU players in double figures for the rousing victory.

The Tops circled the floor for their customary “Diddle Lap” when it was over, and they’ll resume a three-game homestand when WKU plays host to Conference USA newcomer Sam Houston State next Thursday.

The Hilltoppers improved to 14-6 overall and 3-3 in C-USA play, while FIU dropped to 7-13 and 2-3, respectively.

First-year WKU coach Steve Lutz has had to make rotation adjustments on the fly, first losing defensive specialist Jalen Jackson to a foot injury in a non-conference game against Abilene Christian University on December 30. Then, on the road against New Mexico State, senior WKU guard Khristian Lander was sidelined with a concussion on January 18 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

“Dontaie does a good job of staying in the gym,” Lutz said. “Nobody has ever lost confidence in Dontaie … He works hard, he does the right things and he deserves to be rewarded. As long as he sticks with it, he’s going to have his nights.

“And I say that with all of them.”

Allen and WKU teammate Tyrone Marshall participated in the postgame press conference before Lutz’s turn at the podium, and Marshall said the Tops will concentrate in minimizing turnovers on the practice floor before they square off with Sam Houston State on Thursday.

“We’ve got to execute. We’ve got to limit the turnovers, and we’ll be fine,” Marshall said. “And, we’ve got to ‘want it’ more (than the opponent).”

Western Kentucky seemed to ‘want it’ more than the visiting Panthers on Thursday night, but the Tops had an unusual challenge on their hands with the downtown drillers from Miami. Florida International averaged one 3-point shot attempt per minute, in both the first and second halves, and finished 17-of-40 from the beyond the line against the Hilltoppers.

FIU’s Petar Krivokapic, a 6-foot-4 junior who hails from Montenegro, led the Panthers with 17 points, while teammates Arturo Dean and George Pridgett Jr. both finished with 15. Five FIU players hit at least two 3-pointers over the course of the game, which made for an unusual challenged for Lutz’s squad, defensively.

The Panthers are adept at whipping the ball around the perimeter before letting it fly from 3-point land. The Hilltoppers led for nearly the entire game, and usually by double digits, but Florida International stayed on the attack. The Panthers had won three of their previous four games, but they met their match with the Tops’ balanced offense.

And WKU has no problem pushing the ball up the floor and looking for a quick basket themselves.

Tyrone Marshall, the Tops’ 6-foot-7 senior forward from Nashville, excels in the open-court game. He finished the night with 10 points, three rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.

“(Marshall is) good in transition,” Lutz said. “I tell him all the time, ‘You’re so gifted, athletically, you’re so good at transition … just get out, and run, every single time you can. Try to get to the front of the rim.'”

WKU point guard Don McHenry, the team’s leading scorer, hit seven of 10 shots and finished the game with 17 points, four rebounds, six assists and four steals. Lander’s injury opened the door for WKU freshman Teagan Moore, who played 17-plus minutes while scoring six points with three rebounds and three assists.

The Hilltoppers also have agile, high-energy forwards in first-year players Enoch Kalambay, who was McHenry’s teammate at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College, and 6-foot-8 junior Babacar Faye, a transfer from the College of Charleston. Senior center Rodney Howard also had a solid game for the Tops, finishing with 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

WKU guard Brandon Newman, a transfer from Purdue University, turned in his usual sturdy performance, scoring 15 points on six-of-nine shooting– 3 for 5 from 3-point range — along with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.

“I just love to get the team going,” Marshall said with a smile.

The Hilltoppers shot 65 percent from the field, and went 7-for-10 from 3-point territory in the second half. FIU used a 6-0 run in the final minute of the first half to pull within 49-46 at the break, but the Tops quickly asserted themselves in the second half, leading by as many as 24 points down the stretch.

“Late in the first half,” Lutz said, “our attention to detail, knowing who their best 3-point shooters were, was not very good.”

Western Kentucky remained unbeaten in 10 games at E.A. Diddle Arena, and the return of WKU students for the spring semester made for a rowdy student section beyond the Hilltoppers’ basket. Steve Lutz and his players went out of their way to mention the atmosphere the crowd brought to the game.

“You just have to keep your nose to the grindstone,” Lutz said, “stay in the gym and keep working.”