THE TOPS WERE EFFICIENT ON OFFENSE.
WKU GUARD ARMELO BOONE: ‘WE CAME OUT HERE JUST TO COMPETE, AND JUST PLAY TOGETHER …’
It was an Opening Night at WKU’s historic E.A. Diddle Arena in which everything pretty much went according to plan.
A promising Western Kentucky men’s basketball team took the floor against former OVC rival Morehead State and left nothing to chance.
The Hilltoppers scored the game’s first six points and never relented, cruising to an efficient 83-59 victory over the Golden Eagles before a paid crowd of 3,245.
Western Kentucky put 10 players in the scoring column, led by redshirt junior swingman Teagan Moore’s game-high 17 points, and third-year WKU head coach Hank Plona substituted freely, which made sense because Diddle’s air conditioning was on the fritz, and the Hilltoppers’ depth was clearly a factor in the outcome.
WKU, bolstered by a strong showing in its last exhibition game — a 79-74 loss to tradition-rich Indiana University eight days earlier in Evansville — stayed on the attack and dominated inside, scoring 36 points in the paint, compared to Morehead State’s 20.
WKU shared the basketball and had 17 assists against six turnovers. Sophomore guard Armelo Boone played a team-high 29-plus minutes, and he finished the game with 10 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Boone’s quickness in the open floor had the Golden Eagles on their heels for most of the night.
Plona was pleased with his team’s overall performance. Freshman WKU forward Gabe Weis had an impressive debut, scoring 14 points off the bench while hitting two of five 3-point shots.
“It was a pretty strong first game for us, overall,” Plona said. “I mean, we’ll watch the film, and figure some things out … It was good to see everybody get on the floor, and for all the guys to have some success on both ends.
“Just about every player had a stretch where they really contributed in a major way.”
WAS UPBEAT AFTER THE GAME.
HIT SIX OF 11 SHOTS FOR
A TEAM-HIGH 17 POINTS.
FOLLOWS THE FLIGHT OF HIS LOB PASS …
WHO SLAMS HOME A SECOND-HALF DUNK.
Former Warren Central High School star Kade Unseld, who has battled knee trouble for most of his career with the Tops, was dressed and cleared to play. Unseld didn’t play against the Golden Eagles, but Plona indicated that Unseld is a key component for what the Hilltoppers have in mind for the 2026-27 season. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Unseld is a skilled perimeter shooter and has had his moments since joining the Tops in 2024.
“It’s been a long road back for Kade,” Plona said.
The Hilltoppers’ three returning starters — redshirt junior guard Teagan Moore, sophomore guard Armelo Boone and senior guard L.J. Hackman — were all in the starting lineup, joined by newcomers E.J. Walker, a 6-foot-8 transfer from South Carolina, and 6-foot-9 senior Emondrek Erkins-Ford, a Chicago native who came to WKU after spending the 2025-26 season at Jacksonville State.
Jax State, of course, is one of the Hilltoppers’ primary rivals in Conference USA.
NOAH NORGAARD’s SHOT
FALL THROUGH THE NET.
AND FRESHMAN FORWARD GABE WEIS
MEET WITH THE MEDIA AFTER THE GAME.
Sharron Young, a 6-foot-3 WKU guard and transfer from Akron University, showed a deft outside shooting touch and finished the game with 13 points and a team-high six assists. Young hit five of eight shorts from the field, including a 3-for-5 showing from 3-point range.
Team quickness is clearly one of the Tops’ calling cards, which was something Boone addressed in the postgame press conference.
“We came out here just to compete, and play together,” Boone said.
FINISHED THE GAME WITH 10 POINTS,
NINE REBOUNDS AND FOUR STEALS.
TO KENTUCKY WESLEYAN
ON THURSDAY NIGHT.
WKU coach Hank Plona knows what he has, in Moore, Boone and Hackman, and he was pleased to see Gabe Weis, the 6-foot-9 freshman forward from Springfield, Kentucky, shine in his first game with the Tops.
“Gabe can make some shots … His upside is through the roof,” Plona said. “He could could be a special player for us.”
Weis’ outside shooting range, along with his height, could pose major problems for the Hilltoppers’ opponents this season.
“My teammates kept giving me the ball … get loose a little bit,” Weis said.
Morehead State went 20-13 overall last season, including a 15-5 finish in the Ohio Valley Conference. Junior guard Chase Dawson led the Golden Eagles with 13 points, while 6-foot-8 forward Clayton Parker finished with 12.
Western Kentucky plays the bulk of its schedule away from Diddle Arena in November, but the Tops will be at home on Thursday when they play host to Kentucky Wesleyan, a tradition-rich NCAA Division II team in Owensboro. On Sunday, the Tops will be on the road to tangle with another former OVC rival, Tennessee Tech, in Cookeville.
ROAD TRIPS, BUT THIS TIME …