Jim Mashek

IMPENDING TWO-GAME ROAD TRIP WILL HELP DEFINE WKU’s SEASON

Something had to give.

The Western Kentucky men’s basketball program had finally lost its first home game of the 2023-24 season at historic E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers had lost three of four games, dating back to mid-January. Injuries in the backcourt were taking a toll on the Tops.

Then, in the first half against longtime rival Middle Tennessee State — the Hilltoppers and MTSU starting regularly playing one another in the ’50s, in the Ohio Valley Conference — they’d trailed for the bulk of the game before retreating to the locker room tied with the Blue Raiders at 38.

Plus, star WKU guard Don McHenry missed the last few minutes of the half with two fouls, and a season-high Diddle crowd of 5,507 was starting to get restless.

That all changed, and in a hurry.

McHenry scored the first 17 WKU points of the second half — on drives to the basket, free throws and fallaway 3-pointers — and the Hilltoppers got on board to crush the Blue Raiders, 88-65, before a loud and appreciative crowd on Saturday night.

Now, they’ll have to go on the road and do the same — they’re 0-3 away from Diddle in Conference USA games this season — if they expect to gain ground on the leaders in the conference standings, Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston State.

“It’s almost like a restart,” McHenry said.

The Hilltoppers take a 15-7 record, and 4-4 mark in Conference USA, into Wednesday’s road game against Louisiana Tech (16-6, 6-1 in C-USA) in Ruston, Louisiana. They’re still without injured guard Khristian Lander, who remains in the concussion protocol. They’ve got a shot to make first-year WKU coach Steve Lutz’s debut season a memorable one, but they only have three remaining home games on the schedule.

Lutz and the Hilltoppers understand that reality.

“I thought the second half was one of our better defensive halves of the season,” Lutz said. “… You don’t ever want to look in the rear-view mirror, but I think if we would’ve played defense like that, in the second half Thursday night (a 79-77 loss to Sam Houston State), we’d probably be in a little bit different position in the conference rankings.

“Nonetheless, we did it tonight. We learned from that mistake, hopefully, came out with a vengeance and were able to get the win.”

The Blue Raiders are last in the Conference USA standings with a 2-5 league record, and they’re also well below .500 overall, at 8-14 for the season. In the first half, however, senior MTSU guard Jalen Jordan started drilling 3-pointers from all points of the floor, and his teammates were starting to follow suit.

MTSU went 8 for 20 from the 3-point line (40 percent) before halftime before cooling off, significantly, with a 3-for-22 showing from 3-point range (14 percent) in the final 20 minutes.

McHenry, the former junior college star from Milwaukee, and senior center Rodney Howard, a transfer from Georgia Tech, had a lot to do with that downturn for the Blue Raiders. Jordan led MTSU with 22 points and teammate Justin Porter finished with 18.

“Shoot, (McHenry) had a lot of rest. He sat his butt on that bench, the first half, for a long time with fouls,” Lutz said. “So he was rested up, ready to go. But yeah, anytime some guy comes into the game and scores 17 (points) in a row, and kind of carries you, you’ll take it.

“I mean, he was fantastic.”

McHenry seemed ready to turn the page, and talk about Wednesday’s road game against Louisiana Tech.

“I was determined to have a good second half,” McHenry said. “… We’re looking to get a win on the road.”

Howard led the Hilltoppers with 22 points, hitting five of six shots from 3-point range, while avoiding further foul trouble in the second half. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Rodney Howard also established himself, finishing with 16 points and five rebounds on 6-for-13 shooting.

Senior WKU forward Tyrone Marshall brought the crowd to its feet with a couple spectacular dunks, on on a lob pass from teammate Dontaie Allen, and finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Allen, the former UK Wildcat, also had a solid performance, scoring 10 points while adding five rebounds and three assists.

Enoch Kalambay also gives the Hilltoppers an energetic, full-court presence, and he led WKU with seven rebounds while scoring eight points. Freshman swingman Teagan Moore again had some productive minutes and walk-on junior guard Tyler ‘Fluff’ Olden brought the WKU bench and student section to its feet with a 3-pointer from the left wing that fell through the net in the final two minutes.

“We love ‘Fluff’ … that’s big time,” a smiling Howard said in the postgame press conference.

Olden was also featured in a lighthearted, taped interview with Lutz that ran on the Jumbotron during a time-out, and long before the “Diddle Lap,” when the Hilltoppers’ players and coaches circle the arena to share in the victory with the fans, WKU honored an NCAA Tournament squad from the 1960s, featuring All-American Clem Haskins, during one timeout, along with the Hilltoppers’ baseball and softball teams.

In the second half, the WKU football squad appeared at mid-court, including former South Warren High School quarterback Caden Veltkamp, the MVP of the Famous Toasteries Bowl, a 38-35 overtime victory over Old Dominion University on December 21, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In Steve Lutz’s mind, it’s all going to start between the ears for the Hilltoppers. Attitude, toughness and tenacity could take the Tops a long way, and the team’s fan base is frustrated that WKU hasn’t played in the NCAA Tournament since the 2012-13 season.

To get back to that lofty plateau, it’s all but certain the Hilltoppers will have to win the Conference USA Tournament, which unfolds March 12 in Huntsville, Alabama, roughly a three-hour drive from the WKU campus.

(In previous seasons, the Tops had to travel all the way to Dallas-Fort Worth for both the C-USA men’s and women’s tournaments.)

“If we can harness this defensive energy, from the second half, that’ll help on the road,” Lutz said. “Going to Louisiana Tech, we’re going to have our work cut out for us.”