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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – WKU men’s basketball earned an 81-76 victory over rival Murray State in overtime Saturday afternoon at Diddle Arena. Don McHenry scored a season-high 29 points, lifting the Hilltoppers to victory over the Racers and giving WKU its 100th all-time win over its historic rival.

Saturday’s win marks the fourth straight for WKU and improves the Tops’ record to 7-3 overall with a 6-1 mark at home at Diddle Arena. WKU has now won seven of its last eight games this season.

Four Hilltoppers scored in double figures in the win over the Racers, with McHenry leading the offensive attack for WKU with a total of 29 points, along with five rebounds, two steals, two blocks and an assist. Tyrone Marshall Jr. posted a double-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds with two steals and an assist, while Babacar Faye finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, along with two steals, one block and an assist. Khristian Lander rounded out the Tops in double-digit scoring, posting 12 points with two rebounds and an assist.

Braxton Bayless knocked down a fadeaway jumper from the free throw line for WKU’s first points of the day. After a timeout, McHenry found a cutting Faye for the jam, giving WKU a 6-2 lead with 17:48 left in the first. The Racers took their first lead with a three in front of the Hilltopper bench to take the lead, 12-10, at 3:24 of the first.

WKU would continue a scoreless skid for 7:01, allowing Murray State to take a 12-point lead before breaking the drought with a Faye tip with 9:30 left in the half. Faye would cut the margin to single digits with a pair of made free throws to make it 22-14 with 9:03 remaining until the break.

Trailing by 10, McHenry was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted on all three free throws to cut the deficit to seven, 26-19, with 6:02 left in the half. WKU tied the game on its next three field goals, but the Racers held a 10-point lead at 35-25 with three minutes to play as the teams traded buckets. With 2:25 until the break, Enoch Kalambay connected on a pair from the line to cut the deficit to eight. The Hilltoppers then forced the sixth Racer turnover and Jalen Jackson converted on the other end with a contested layup, cutting the Hilltopper deficit to four, 37-33, with 57.4 left in the first period.

The Racers would connect on the other end and the teams entered the break with WKU trailing, 39-33.

The Hilltoppers struggled shooting in the first half, shooting just .314% from the floor with an 0-for-10 clip from beyond the arc heading into halftime. Despite the poor shooting, WKU managed to make 11 of 12 from the charity stripe.

In the second half, WKU improved its shooting early, as McHenry connected with the team’s first three of the day at 19:18 of the second period. Faye then secured a steal and converted at the other end to make it a one-possession game, 42-39.

Off an inbound pass, McHenry hit another triple in front of the Hilltiopper bench, tying the score at 42-all with 17:08 to play. In transition, Bayless found himself trailing Marshall Jr. for WKU’s third three of the half, giving the team a 45–42 lead and shifting the momentum back in the Tops’ favor. This marked the Tops’ first lead since leading 10-9 early in the first, forcing the Racers into a timeout with 15:54 remaining.

A 15-0 score for WKU combined with a 5:18 scoreless drought for Murray State allowed the Tops to take a seven-point, 49-42 lead with 14:50 left in regulation. The Racers followed by scoring a field goal to cut the WKU lead to five. WKU was the first to break 50 with a runner from Marshall Jr. which put the Tops ahead, 51-47, approaching the break under 12.

With WKU trailing by two, Kalambay was fouled on his way up and connected on both foul shots for the fourth tie of the game, this time 55-all, with 9:55 to play. A quick 5-0 upset by the Racers forced the Tops into a timeout trailing 60-55 with 8:42 to go. The Racers added three more as WKU’s scoring drought extended to 3:29 before Marshall Jr. made a three from the wing to make it a five-point game with 5:53 to play.

Kalambay faked a defender on the next possession and found a wide open McHenry in the corner who buried the three, making it a two-point, 63-61 game. Murray State added two more and the two offenses stopped as WKU endured a 3:13 scoreless drought. A baseline floater by McHenry cut the margin to two, 65-63, with 1:43 to play. The Racers then turned the ball over and McHenry drove to the rack and connected, tying things at 65-all with 1:02 remaining in regulation.

The Racers connected on a pair of foul shots before McHenry followed up with his own miss at the other end, tying the game for the sixth time, 67 all, with 35 seconds left. After a defensive stance, Jackson found Marshall Jr. at the buzzer, but it was not good. The teams ended the regulation deadlock at 67-67.

Entering overtime, McHenry scored the first points of the period, giving WKU a 69-67 lead with 4:19 remaining. The Racers tied the game again before Lander fouled out at the other end and converted both to push WKU over 70, now up 71-69. Murray State scored the next five to take a 74-71 lead before Lander connected on a jumper with 1:15 left to make the count 74-73, with WKU trailing by one.

The Tops held the defense and Kalambay grabbed the defensive board. At the other end, McHenry pulled up a step back three and connected in the face of a Racer defender to regain a lead for the Tops, 76-74, with 38 seconds left in overtime.

Moments later, WKU forced a Murray State turnover and secured possession with 16.4 seconds left to play in OT. McHenry was fouled with 15.6 left and converted both to make it 78-74 in favor of the Hilltoppers.

The Racers scored with nine seconds left and Bayless was fouled on the inbounds, going one-of-two at the line to push the WKU lead to three, 79-76. The Racers then turned the ball over again on the other end before a foul on Lander on the WKU inbounds sent him to the line for a pair. Lander sank both to push the WKU lead to 81-76 with 2.9 left in overtime.

One last Racer heave wouldn’t add up and WKU earned its 100th all-time win over Murray State, 81-76, to improve to 7-3 on the year.

“I feel like our guys did a great job of weathering a lot of ups and downs throughout the game,” said head coach Hank Plona. “I thought the togetherness we showed at both ends of the pitch in a very high-pressure situation was something you want to see from an experienced team, and it was great to see that. I think we’ve done well in the last three games and we took the lead in the second half, but Murray is a top-level team so you can’t just back away from that. Ultimately, we were able to make some plays on both ends of the field in some tough situations and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys who got this win.”

“I love our WKU fans,” Tyrone Marshall Jr. said. “Once they get into it, I’m definitely in it because I want to win for them – for the crowd, for the fans, for the kids who come here and support us. So if we get a big win for them, it makes my day.”

WKU continues its non-conference schedule with its first-ever meeting against Seattle on Tuesday, December 17 at Diddle Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM CT, with ESPN+ set to broadcast the event live.

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