Jim Mashek

WKU AWAITS WORD ON INJURED STAR FORWARD BABACAR FAYE; HILLTOPPERS PLAY HOST TO SEATTLE UNIVERSITY ON TUESDAY NIGHT

Western Kentucky University’s Don McHenry has made quite a splash since joining the Hilltoppers after one outstanding season at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College and an accomplished freshman campaign at Hawaii-Hilo.

WKU’s senior guard took matters into his own hands on Saturday afternoon at historic E.A. Diddle Arena, lifting the Hilltoppers past traditional rival Murray State, 81-76, in an overtime affair in which the Racers led for most of the game.

McHenry stayed on the attack in regulation, and then turned up the pressure on Murray State in the overtime, leading the Hilltoppers to a gritty victory over their erstwhile Ohio Valley Conference rival, a third-year member of the tradition-rich Missouri Valley Conference.

McHenry finished with a game-high 29 points, adding five rebounds and two steals, as the Hilltoppers improved to 7-3 overall heading into Tuesday night’s home game against Seattle University (4-6 overall). McHenry brought the paid Diddle crowd of 3,707 to its feet several times as Western Kentucky extended its winning streak to four games.

The Racers, who led by as many as 12 points in the first half, dropped to 6-3 overall.

First-year WKU head coach Hank Plona, who coached McHenry at Indian Hills before joining the Hilltoppers’ staff in 2023, has seen the slender 6-foot-2 guard from Milwaukee take such an initiative, time and again over the last 2.5 seasons.

“(McHenry) lives for those moments,” Plona said afterward, “and he expects to make it and obviously we’re very fortunate to have an elite offensive player like him on our basketball team.”

There was a sobering element to the impressive victory, however, as senior WKU forward Babacar Faye was injured in the final seven minutes of regulation. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound Faye, a native of Senegal, is the Hilltoppers’ leading rebounder and shot blocker. He watched the overtime from a spot beyond the Hilltoppers’ bench, his injured right knee wrapped in an ice pack.

Faye was helped off the court after the dramatic triumph, and Plona said he would undergo an MRI on Sunday morning.

“(Faye is) not feeling his best, but he’s a mentally strong young man,” Plona said. “He has a knee injury … He’s scheduled to have an MRI, so I would think we’ll try to give you guys the best update we can, when that happens.

“Obviously, he’s an important part of our team.”

Steve Prohm, in the third season of his second stint at Murray State, made not attempt to sugarcoat the bitter defeat.

“Missed opportunities. We had layups, plays at the rim, free throws, and we weren’t able to really convert,” Prohm told reporters outside the MSU locker room. “Their pressure was bothering us, at times. They were trying to take JaCobi (Wood) away, spacing the floor … you’ve got to make basketball plays.

“Obviously, it’s a frustrating loss.”

Wood, Murray’s senior guard from Cleveland, Tennessee, led the Racers with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. He played the game’s entire 45 minutes, while hitting five of 10 shots from 3-point range.

The Hilltoppers were clearly the deeper squad, but that depth was compromised when Faye departed in the second half. That made senior WKU guard Don McHenry’s performance all the more impressive, because he was challenging the Racers on drives to the basket, as well as pull-up 3-pointers from the perimeter.

McHenry went 4 for 10 from 3-point range. The Hilltoppers didn’t connect on a single 3-pointer until the second half.

“It felt really good,” McHenry said with a smile. “I’d missed some open looks, but got some shots to fall. We showed our resilience.”

The Hilltoppers had to do that several times.

WKU finished with a substantial rebounding advantage (52-40) and had 19 second-chance points to the Racers’ five. The Hilltoppers hit 21 of 25 free throws (84 percent), with senior WKU guard Khristian Lander going 4-for-4 from the line in overtime.

Senior WKU forward Tyrone Marshall Jr. had a strong, all-around game, finishing with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in 38-plus minutes. Teammate Babacar Faye scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds before departing with his knee injury.

“We had to play the game at our speed (in the second half and OT),” Marshall said. “The (Diddle) crowd was definitely the best … Getting a big win over (Murray State) makes our day.”

Senior WKU guard Jalen Jackson, the Tops’ best on-ball defender, had two of his team’s eight steals. Enoch Kalambay, a 6-foot-6 swingman, filled in admirably for an injured Faye down the stretch, scoring all of his six points at the free-throw line while adding six rebounds and two assists. After failing to hit a 3-pointer in the first half, WKU went 6-of-15 from beyond the arc the rest of the way.

Murray State’s Nick Ellington finished the game with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Racer teammates A.J. Ferguson and KyeRon Lindsay added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

WKU coach Hank Plona was pleased with his team’s defensive performance down the stretch, and he’s hopeful the Hilltoppers will continue to play Murray State in the future. Western defeated the Racers, 86-81, in the first couple weeks of the 2023-24 season, and the Hilltoppers lead the all-time series, 100-54.

“Our guys did a great job of persevering in this game,” Plona said. “That last stop in regulation was high level … If it’s up to us, we’ll continue to play in the foreseeable future. Murray State is an elite basketball team.”