Jim Mashek

ANDY KENNEDY’s BLAZERS LOOK LIKE THE REAL DEAL AT DIDDLE; FIRST-YEAR WKU COACH HANK PLONA KEEPING AN EYE ON OPENING NIGHT AGAINST WICHITA STATE

They fell behind and struggled at the defensive end of the floor.

They found a spark, in the formative stages of the second half, and just as quickly faded under the bright lights of Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

The home team’s one dress rehearsal, an exhibition game against a familiar opponent, the UAB Blazers, was pretty much a mixed bag on Sunday afternoon, so forgive the Hilltoppers if it seems like they were holding that bag when time finally expired.

UAB 88, Western Kentucky 79.

The Blazers, who moved from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference after the 2022-23 school year, unleashed a steady offensive attack to spoil the party at Diddle, the Hilltoppers’ first game under first-year coach Hank Plona after last year’s trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Blazers got there too. And the Blazers looked a lot more like an NCAA Tournament team than the Hilltoppers, who hit just five of 25 3-pointers while struggling around the rim and in their defensive transition game.

“I thought we were just half a step slow,” Plona said. “And I don’t think that’s decision making, I think that’s trying to be perfect. I think that’s trying not to step on a teammate’s toes. When a basketball team is really good, they’re loudly communicating with each other …

“We’re a close-knit group, with a lot of successful experience that we’ve all had together, but it’s time to move on and it’s time to keep in the moment.”

Western Kentucky made its long awaited return to the NCAA Tournament last season, defeating UTEP in the Conference USA Tournament championship game, 78-71. The Hilltoppers’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years was a memorable one, as they led for much of the first half before No. 2 seed Marquette recovered to zap WKU, 87-69, in Indianapolis.

Steve Lutz, the Tops’ first-year head coach last season, bolted for Oklahoma State University a few days later, and Plona, his lead assistant, moved into the head coaching position. Plona has kept much of the roster from last year’s 22-12 squad, including All-Conference USA guard Don McHenry, who played for Plona at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

UAB led by as many as 19 points in the second half, and the Blazers had five players finish in double figures as the Hilltoppers failed to keep pace.

Plona acknowledged that his team was facing a tall task in scheduling UAB for the Tops’ single exhibition game.

“When we put this game on the schedule … I thought (Sunday’s result) was a possibility,” Plona said. “If that happened to us, I’m glad it happened in a game like this, that doesn’t count (toward the WKU overall record).

“(UAB) had a toughness, around the rim … within two, three feet of the basket, they were very strong.”

The Blazers were equally adept in the transition game, with four players hitting 3-point baskets while UAB finished 7-of-17 from beyond the arc. Efrem Johnson led the Blazers with 16 points, hitting 2-of-4 shots from 3-point range, while teammate Tyren Moore came off the bench to add 15 points, on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown.

Senior forward Babacar Faye, one of the Hilltoppers’ returning starters, hit eight of 11 shots while leading WKU with 20 points and eight rebounds. Senior WKU guard Don McHenry needed some time to find his offensive rhythm, but he hit three of five 3-pointers while adding 16 points and four assists.

The rest of the Hilltoppers’ roster went 2-of-20 from 3-point land, a disaster any way you slice it.

“We know that we left a lot on the court, for sure,” WKU senior forward Tyrone Marshall Jr. said. “We’ve got to get back in that lab, get back in practice. We’ve got to practice harder on rebounding … they got a lot of offensive rebounds.

“So basically, at the defensive end, we’ve got to step up on rebounding, and making sure we secure the rock, and (opponents) only get one shot. We’ve got to get back to work, basically.”

WKU coach Hank Plona used the game as a barometer for the Hilltoppers’ Opening Night, a November 4 home game against tradition-rich Wichita State.

“The last five or six minutes (when WKU briefly cut its deficit to single digits), we showed we’ve got some fight in us,” Plona said. “Obviously, we have a very challenging road in front of us … We’ve got to be able to impose our (offensive) will, to finish at the rim. We’ve got to do that to be more efficient on offense.”

WKU sixth man Teagan Moore, who showed vast improvement in the final few weeks of his freshman season last year, did not dress after undergoing knee surgery over the summer. Former Warren Central High School star Kade Unseld also was in civvies, and after a corrective knee surgery over the summer, Plona said a redshirt 2024-25 season is “probably likely.”

WKU’s Babacar Faye, one of the team’s more popular players, said the Hilltoppers will need a stronger mental approach when they open the season against Wichita State.

“For us, the players, it’s our job to be sure we’re locked in,” Faye said.

WKU’s Tyrone Marshall was a little more analytical.

“We’ve got eight days to fix it,” he said.

Plona did mention the contribution off the bench of former walk-on guard Jack Edelen, who had three steals while scoring five points in just eight minutes and change on the floor. Edelen is a 5-foot-10 sophomore from Louisville’s Male High School.

“We need to play with more ball pressure (defensively), and intensity,” Plona said. “It’s my job to put the best team on the floor for 40 minutes.”