#2 Trey Simpson dribbles towards the basket in a game against Western Kentucky on Jan. 28 at VyStar Arena. Photo by: Declan Hale
Men’s basketball overcame a double-digit second-half deficit for the second straight time at home in a 72-69 win over Western Kentucky on Wednesday night at VyStar Arena.
Following a three-game road trip in which Kennesaw State dropped the final two games on the heels of guard Simeon Cottle’s indictment and indefinite suspension, the Owls found a way to pull out a gritty victory in front of a home crowd.
With 14.6 seconds remaining on the clock, WKU found itself with possession and an opportunity to take the lead or win at the buzzer, trailing 70-69.
Hilltoppers forward Grant Newell appeared to have a lane to the rim in the closing moments, but KSU’s Trey Simpson got a piece of the basketball on his way up, and the ball eventually found its way to Frankquon Sherman, who was fouled with 1.8 seconds remaining.
Sherman knocked down both free throws, and a heave of an inbounds pass from WKU bounced away from harm, giving the Owls the win.
The first half featured a defensive slugfest as the Owls held WKU to 1-of-13 from the field in the final seven minutes of the frame, yet maintained just a one-point lead at 37-36 at the break.
The first 20 minutes saw six lead changes, five ties and neither team held a lead larger than six points. Braedan Lue and RJ Johnson shot a collective 10-of-19 from the floor in the opening half, combining for 27 of the Owls’ 37 points while the rest of the team shot just 2-of-10.
The contest remained close in the first eight minutes of the second half. The Hilltoppers took their first lead at 43-42 in the opening minutes on a Ryan Myers three-pointer with 16:44 remaining prior to both teams trading leads.
Scoring five unanswered points, WKU pushed its lead to the largest it had been at 55-48 at the 10:36 mark, and eventually 63-53 at the 6:30 mark.
Amir Taylor converted two layups within a minute, drawing fouls on each, to put KSU back in the game at 65-60 with 4:50 to play.
Two timely buckets from Johnson, who led all scorers with 19 points, and a three from Jaden Harris gave the Owls a lead they wouldn’t relinquish at 70-67.
Johnson, who scored a then-career-high at the time of 31 points against Western Kentucky when the teams met on Jan. 17, said he knew this time he’d be highlighted as a threat.
“This time we knew they would come out and focus on trying to stop me, so instead of me trying to force my shot or look for my shot, I just leaned on my teammates,” he said. “Instead of forcing it, I just played within the system.”
When Owls coach Antoine Pettway and his team found themselves in a similar situation to the one they were in against FIU two weeks prior, he said he delivered the same message.
“I got to celebrate with them dudes in the locker room, they kept fighting,” Pettway said. “[When we were down 10 points] I looked at them and asked them the same two questions. Can you fight and do you believe? And the answer was a resounding yes.”
Pettway declined to comment on a majority of the specifics regarding Cottle, but did speak on the experience of the previous few weeks and the message he had for his group.
“When we lose one of our brothers, we got to step up,” Pettway said. “That’s a family member, we love him. But the guys know, we still got a lot ahead of us still and everything is still on the table.”
