Western Kentucky v. Georgia State Live Thread

[svw311]

With 20 wins and a second seed in the SBC tournament secured after a 75-72 win against Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday night, the Hilltoppers will cap off the regular season on the road against conference leader Georgia State.

This game is virtually meaningless in the grand scheme of things, but the bad memories of a 77-54 whoppin' the Panthers laid on the Hilltoppers at Diddle Arena back on January 9th are surely on the mind's of many on the WKU roster and coaching staff.

I realize Ray Harper's message after Thursday's game was that some players will get well-deserved rest on Saturday, however, if WKU jumps out and plays well enough to get a win, some players may not get the rest that was originally planned.

Hey, nothing wrong with putting a little icing on the cake if the opportunity presents itself. Let's eat! Tip off at 1:30 Bowling Green time.


- Sean Williams
InsideHilltopperSports.com

 

[svw311]

Looks like Harper is deciding to rest Price and Fant for today's game. Smart move. It would be a nice "pick-me-up" to try and get the W at Georgia State, but it's not worth it. Put forth your best effort when it matters in the SBC Tournament.

I'll enjoy seeing who steps up their game with the Hilltoppers top dawgs out.

 

[svw311]

Ben Lawson provided a nice spark almost immediately upon entering the game with a nice putback. Hilltoppers hanging tough so far.

 

[svw311]

After a tough stretch, a couple of buckets by Brandon Harris and Payton Hulsey have put the Tops right back in it. Being a little more aggressive on offense, passing the ball well, and attacking the basket.

 

[svw311]

Payton Hulsey is doing his part, and then some, in the first half. Has netted 8 points so far. Aside from his breakaway layup mishap, he's been doing a great job of attacking the basket and has got a couple of mid-range jumpers to fall.

Georgia State's defense is swarming to say the least, they lead 29-21 with 3:21 remaining in the first half.

 

[svw311]

Halftime score: Georgia St. 34, WKU 23

Impressed with Payton Hulsey's play offensively, who has scored 10 points in the first half and has been really great around the basket. Ben Lawson has also got a lot of playing time because of his activity on the defensive glass.

Disappointed with the play of CHD and Trency Jackson, in a time where they need to be at their most consistent with Price and Fant sitting out, they've been the definition of inconsistency in the first 20 minutes.

 

[svw311]

49-36 Georgia State leads with 11:13 remaining

As I mentioned on Twitter, it's been a daunting task for WKU to hit an outside jumper of any kind today. Despite that, they've been able to hang around and haven't self-destructed like they did at Diddle Arena on January 9th.

 

[svw311]

63-49 Ga State leads with 4:26 remaining

A couple of back-to-back 3's by Dickerson and CHD cut whittled the deficit to nine points, but a lack of defensive rotation allowed Devonta White to hit a wide-open 3 to extend the lead to 14

 

[svw311]

Final: GSU 73, WKU 55

Considering the fact that Western Kentucky played without their top two players today, I thought it was a really solid effort by the Hilltoppers today. They didn't implode, stayed in the game, cut the deficit to nine points for a moment in the second half, and shot the ball terribly from the outside and the free throw line.

Impressed with efforts of Payton Hulsey, Ben Lawson, and O'Karo Akamune. A solid effort by the role players, would have like to have scene a little more out of Trency Jackson and a better shooting performance from Caden Dickerson, although, he did better in the second half.

The Hilltoppers will now rest up (won't play again until Saturday) for the SBC Tournament in New Orleans, it's tournament time and that's when Ray Harper is at his best.



This post was edited on 3/8 3:40 PM by svw311