WKU Hilltopper Basketball sent an over-capacity E.A. Diddle Arena into hysterics Saturday night, scoring the last 15 points of the game to pull out an 85-74 home victory over Marshall.
The Hilltoppers (15-6 overall, 7-1 Conference USA) trailed 74-70 with 4:39 remaining, but redshirt junior guard Lamonte Bearden answered with a three-point play.
Freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth scored five points and drew two charges, and WKU tacked on five more points, including an emphatic dunk by senior forward Justin Johnson with 27 seconds left for the exclamation mark.
Senior guard Darius Thompson led WKU with 20 points and six rebounds, and senior forward Dwight Coleby recorded his ninth double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Bearden and freshman guard Jake Ohmer – making his first career start – each scored 12 points, and Johnson finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Hollingsworth had nine points.
WKU drew an over-capacity crowd of 7,362, marking its first back-to-back sellouts since 2005-06 and its first consecutive conference sellouts since 2001-02.
The Hilltoppers shot 47.6 percent from the field (57.6 percent in the second half), made 20 of 26 free throws and outrebounded Marshall 45-30. WKU outscored the Thundering Herd 46-26 in the paint.
WKU never trailed in the first half, but led by just one when the Hilltoppers went on a 10-2 run to open a 41-32 advantage with one minute left in the frame.
Marshall scored the final five points of the half to trim its halftime deficit to 41-37.
The Herd used a 9-2 run to surge in front for the first time midway through the second half, and they opened their largest lead of the game with four-plus minutes left before WKU’s big push.
C.J. Burks paced Marshall with 29 points, knocking down six 3-pointers.
The Hilltoppers, who are still tied for the C-USA lead, head back on the road next week for a two-game swing to Texas, starting at UTEP at 9 p.m. CT Thursday in El Paso, Texas.
How to follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, follow the team’s social media channels, @WKUBasketball on Twitter, @WKUBasketball on Instagram, and WKU Basketball on Facebook.
-@WKUSports-
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Zach Greenwell
Associate Director
WKU Athletic Communications/Media Relations
Men’s Basketball | Men’s Golf | Women’s Golf
