BOWLING GREEN — Western Kentucky rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit with sticky defense to overhaul Lipscomb 66-61 in a hard-scrabble college basketball game on Sunday afternoon in E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Hilltoppers will take a 2-2 record into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game against visiting Jackson State.
“We’re very happy to get a good win against a very good Lipscomb team that is picked to win their league (Atlantic Sun) and will win 20-something games this year,” first-year WKU head coach Hank Plona said.
“For the last 25 minutes or so we defended and rebounded as well as we have all season. I thought our team showed their grit and determination with the game on the line — we finished plays at both ends of the floor and that was great to see.
“I thought our size and quickness bothered them some — kept them out of their rhythm at times.”
WKU went on a 12-2 run to take a 55-48 lead on a short jumper by Babacar Faye with 5:15 to play, but the Bisons got bookend 3-pointers from Miles White and Jacob Ognacevic in a 10-5 spurt the visitors within 60-58 at 1:45.
Enoch Kalambay answered for Western with a short jumper in traffic make it 62-58, and after a free throw by White pulled the Bisons within three, Don McHenry scored the key basket of the game on a baseline drive at 0:26 to make it 64-59.
“I felt like I had an advantage on that drive, so I just took it to the rack with confidence,” McHenry said. “It was there for me, and that basket was able to give us some breathing room inside the final 30 seconds.”
Joe Anderson scored on a layup with 19.2 seconds to play to again pull Lipscomb within three, but Faye swished a pair of clutch free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining to seal the deal.
In the first half, the Hilltoppers jumped in front 9-4 in the first four minutes, but Lipscomb responded with a torrid 12-0 burst — shooting in front 16-9 after a steal and layup by Logan Suber at 12:03.
Midway through the half, White hit a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-2 spree that gave the Bisons their biggest lead of the day — 25-14 — after a 16-footer by Anderson at 8:48.
But Western dug in after that, going on a 12-0 run of their own to reclaim the lead, 26-25, after a 3-pointer by Enoch Kalambay at 2:57. IN the process, the Hilltoppers held Lipscomb without a point for a 6:23 stretch.
Lipscomb led 31-30 at intermission.
“Our guys were very confident in the locker room at halftime,” Plona said. “We knew we hadn’t played our best basketball and we were still right there.”
Midway through the second half, Lipscomb went on a 12-2 run and led 46-42 after a fast-break layup Gyasi Powell at 9:05, but WKU responded with a 13-2 spree to regain control — and the Bisons never led again.
Leading the way for WKU was McHenry with a game-best 21 points on 9 of 19 shooting, including 3 of 6 accuracy from beyond the arc. Faye scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, with Kalambay producing 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“We stayed together really well, despite some lapses out there,” McHenry said. “We hung in there against a good team and finished strong. We’re still not where we want to be, but this was a quality win that will give us confidence moving forward.”
Western shot 38% from the field, making only 5 of 22 shots from 3-point land (23%), but the Hilltoppers won the rebounding battle, 45-41. WKU also limited Lipscomb to just 35% shooting, including only 5 of 31 from beyond the arc for a frigid 16%.
While nine players scored for the Bisons, none of them reached double figures — White, Anderson and Ognacevic scoring nine points each to lead the way. Ognacevic hauled down a game-best 11 rebounds.
Lipscomb (2-3) remains in the Bluegrass State for their next outing, a visit to Kentucky on Tuesday night.
