The Hilltoppers chances of their third straight Sun Belt Conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance came to end on Saturday evening in a blow-for-blow battle with Louisiana-Lafayette. An Elfrid Payton layup with 1:16 remaining was the difference maker down the stretch as Louisiana-Lafayette defeated Western Kentucky 73-72.
Western Kentucky had two chances to retake the lead, but a couple of layup attempts fell short, the first coming from George Fant with 46 seconds remaining. WKU made one final defensive stand and as T.J. Price grabbed the rebound with ten seconds remaining, he raced down the sidelines and drove to the basket, but the angle was bad and the layup sailed over the rim and into Elfrid Payton's hands as time expired.
The Ragin' Cajuns were lead by Bryant Mbamalu and Elfrid Payton, who each scored 23 points. Payton also collected seven rebounds and dished out nine assists on the night. The Hilltoppers were paced by George Fant and T.J. Price, each poured in 16 points and senior Brandon Harris chipped in with 11 points, connecting on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Louisiana-Lafayette outrebounded the Hilltoppers 33 to 27, including a 13 to 9 advantage on the offensive glass that led to 16 second-chance points compared to only nine for WKU. Free throw issues haunted the Hilltoppers down the stretch, where Trency Jackson, George Fant, and O'Karo Akamune went a combined 2-of-6 in the final 2:30.
However, free throws weren't the only problem, the Hilltoppers missed three layups in the final 1:30 - the final one being Price's miss as time expired on Western Kentucky's season.
With the loss, Western Kentucky finishes 20-12 on the season and we say goodbye to seniors Caden Dickerson, O'Karo Akamune, and Brandon Harris.
Western Kentucky had two chances to retake the lead, but a couple of layup attempts fell short, the first coming from George Fant with 46 seconds remaining. WKU made one final defensive stand and as T.J. Price grabbed the rebound with ten seconds remaining, he raced down the sidelines and drove to the basket, but the angle was bad and the layup sailed over the rim and into Elfrid Payton's hands as time expired.
The Ragin' Cajuns were lead by Bryant Mbamalu and Elfrid Payton, who each scored 23 points. Payton also collected seven rebounds and dished out nine assists on the night. The Hilltoppers were paced by George Fant and T.J. Price, each poured in 16 points and senior Brandon Harris chipped in with 11 points, connecting on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Louisiana-Lafayette outrebounded the Hilltoppers 33 to 27, including a 13 to 9 advantage on the offensive glass that led to 16 second-chance points compared to only nine for WKU. Free throw issues haunted the Hilltoppers down the stretch, where Trency Jackson, George Fant, and O'Karo Akamune went a combined 2-of-6 in the final 2:30.
However, free throws weren't the only problem, the Hilltoppers missed three layups in the final 1:30 - the final one being Price's miss as time expired on Western Kentucky's season.
With the loss, Western Kentucky finishes 20-12 on the season and we say goodbye to seniors Caden Dickerson, O'Karo Akamune, and Brandon Harris.
