Jim Mashek

WKU’s HANK PLONA: ‘THIS HASN’T BEEN AN EASY STRETCH …’

The Western Kentucky men’s basketball team was teetering, more or less.

Twenty minutes into Saturday afternoon’s home game against Florida International University, the Hilltoppers had shown few signs that they’ve gotten out of their midseason funk, that they’re ready to make a serious move toward contending in Conference USA play.

Injuries, some bad luck, a few questionable calls, and nothing on the karma front.

Then, the Tops flipped the switch.

After another slow start — that’s par for the course, these days — Western Kentucky found some grit and got down to business.

The Hilltoppers struck for 50 points in the second half, pulling away in the game’s final six minutes to claim an 80-70 victory over FIU before a paid crowd of 3,145 at WKU’s historic E.A. Diddle Arena.

Grant Newell, the Hilltoppers’ 6-foot-8 senior forward from Chicago, and backup guard Cam Haffner provided the spark as Western Kentucky improved to 13-11 overall and 6-7 in Conference USA play. The Tops won’t play again until Valentine’s Day, when they play host to traditional rival MTSU in a rare doubleheader featuring both the WKU men’s and women’s teams.

The WKU women will square off against Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon, with a 2 p.m. tip-off, and the Hilltoppers will follow at 7 p.m., before the Tops go back on the road to tangle with C-USA newcomer Delaware and league-leading Liberty University.

Second-year WKU head coach Hank Plona tried to keep the big picture in mind, after the Hilltoppers did their familiar “Diddle Lap” with courtside fans before returning to the locker room.

“Certainly, at halftime … I wouldn’t say a soul-searching moment … just very matter-of-fact,” Plona said in his postgame press conference. “Yep, we’re tired. This hasn’t been an easy stretch. We’re down by eight (to the hot-shooting Panthers), we all know the situation.

“We can either band together … and play with an aggressiveness, and confidence, to get the job done. Or we can be on our heels, and struggle a little bit. And I thought the players went out there, and took the initiative … They were very aggressive and played to win.”

Newell hit five of eight shots from 3-point range and Plona brought Haffner off the WKU bench — the backup guard had not played in two weeks — to generate momentum that carried the Hilltoppers to victory. Florida International dropped to 11-12 overall and 4-8 in Conference USA play.

“We just kept attacking in the paint,” Newell said.

That created opportunities for several Hilltoppers, including Haffner, a capable 3-point shooter who transferred to WKU from the University of Evansville.

Haffner hit four of nine shots from 3-point land, including a spectacular fallaway jumper from the right corner — parallel to the WKU bench — that put the Hilltoppers on the path to victory with about six minutes left in the game. Haffner played just over 22 minutes and finished the game with 16 points, two assists and two rebounds.

“I told Cam, I have no interest in playing him eight to 11 minutes of the game, and seeing if he can make a shot,” Plona said. “I thought we had done that, for a two- or three-week stretch … I don’t think it helps him, I don’t think it helps us. I don’t think that’s good for anybody.

“(Haffner) need to get where he can be a version of himself, that he wants to be on that court … I didn’t want him to get into a rut, where he’s just expecting to go in there and get a quick hook.”

Senior center Blaise Keita also made some big plays near the basket, hitting all five of his field-goal attempts to finish the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I’m so excited for this double-double, because I’ve been working hard, every day,” Keita said.

Questionable shot selection has hurt the Hilltoppers at times this season, and they’d lost five of six games heading into the FIU contest. The Panthers’ Corey Stephenson, who averages 18 points per game, and FIU shot 50 percent from the field, before the break, but the second half was another story.

FIU hit nine of 26 shots (35 percent) in the second half, including a 3-for-8 showing from 3-point territory. Senior guard Zawdie Jackson led the Panthers with 17 points, while FIU teammates Eric Dibami and Stephenson both finished with 14.

Stephenson and Jackson both fouled out, late in the game.

WKU’s Grant Newell was happy for Haffner, who has given the Hilltoppers a three-point presence for much of the season.

“He’s probably the best shooter on our team,” Newell said.

The Hilltoppers are still waiting on the return of sophomore swingman Teagan Moore, the team’s leading scorer. Moore wasn’t in the building on Thursday night, for the loss to Jax State, but he did join his teammates on the WKU bench for Saturday’s victory over the Panthers. Moore has been out of the lineup for two weeks, under the concussion protocol, and WKU coach Hank Plona said he was having symptoms from the injury on Thursday.

Plona is hopeful Moore can return for next Saturday’s home game against MTSU. The Hilltoppers defeated the Blue Raiders, 65-60, on January 31 in Murfreesboro.

“We need a physical, mental, emotional boost,” Plona said. “This is the only seven-day break we have until the season’s over … I’m proud of our players, for digging down deep and finding a way to win.”