HALF OF THE HILLTOPPERS’ 64 POINTS.
HILLTOPPERS IMPROVE TO 8-1 ON THE SEASON; NEXT UP, LOUISVILLE
Western Kentucky’s Davyion McKnight is a resourceful player, a 6-foot-1 junior guard with quickness, grit and plenty of stamina.
He needed all of those qualities, and in abundance, to carry the Hilltoppers to a hard-fought victory over the Wright State Raiders on Saturday night.
McKnight hit 13 of 17 shots from the field and finished with a game-high 32 points, leading Western Kentucky past Wright State 64-60 before a crowd of 4,010 at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
WAS TERRIFIC. HE PUT US ON HIS BACK AND CARRIED US.”
“McKnight was terrific. He put us on his back and carried us,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said.
The Hilltoppers will take an 8-1 record into Wednesday’s road game against the University of Louisville. Wright State, an NCAA Tournament team last season, dropped to 5-5 with the defeat.
Stansbury said the Hilltoppers have had to fight through illness and injuries over the last 10 days, after surviving a 75-74 victory over former OVC rival Austin Peay State in Clarksville, Tennessee.
AND DAYVION McKNIGHT.
WITH A WRIGHT STATE TURNOVER.
“We didn’t have very good preparation, the last 10 days,” he said. “We had guys out, sick. Emmanuel (Akot), Luke (Frampton) … Jamarion had a turned ankle from the Austin Peay game. He wasn’t at his best.
“It turned into a grind-it-out game.”
McKnight played a game-high 35 minutes and pretty much did it all for WKU.
IN FRONT 59-53 IN THE FINAL FOUR MINUTES.
The Hilltoppers’ leader hit six of seven free throws, and also finished with four steals, four rebounds and three assists.
“It was a team effort,” McKnight said. “The guys saw that I was open … They were setting me up.
“I felt like early on, I was getting to the rim.”
WKU’s Emmanuel Akot had 12 points, and while teammate Jamarion Sharp, the Hilltoppers’ 7-foot-6 senior center, had modest numbers — two points, three blocked shots and five rebounds — his presence was critical when it was a one- or two-possession game in the final two minutes.
Akot drew the Wright State defense to the 3-point line before finding Sharp underneath for a resounding dunk to put the Hilltoppers in front 59-53 with about three minutes, 30 seconds remaining.
Trey Calvin led Wright State with 20 points. The Raiders finished with a 39-35 rebounding average but hit just 3 of 16 shots from 3-point range. WKU also struggled from outside, hitting 3 of 18 shots from 3-point land. Akot had two of them and senior guard Luke Frampton had the other.
I’ll have a comprehensive look at the game on Sunday morning. Thanks for reading.
LOOKS FOR A PATH TO THE BASKET.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT’s GAME AT LOUISVILLE.