Final: MTSU 57, WKU 39

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — So much for a bye, and so much for momentum.

The Western Kentucky basketball team left both items in Murfreesboro, Tenn. on Saturday.

JT Sulton scored 18 points and WKU shot just 30.4 percent for the game as the Hilltoppers lost their shot at a first-round bye in the Sun Belt Tournament with an embarrassing 57-39 defeat to MTSU at the Murphy Center.

The loss leaves WKU with the No. 3 seed in next weekend’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament, meaning that the Hilltoppers will have to win four games in four days in order to get back to an NCAA Tournament.

“If you’re made out of anything, hopefully you’re really down and this feeling stays with you,” said WKU coach Ken McDoanld, whose team will open the SBC tourney against Louisiana-Monroe at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. “Because the next time you play like this, you’ll be done for the year.

“We didn’t have enough guys bring the energy. The intensity level we needed and the ability to handle some adversity in this kind of game – we just didn’t have enough guys ready to go.”

The defeat also went down as the fourth straight by WKU in the 125-game series with MTSU, something that’s only happened once before.

It was also WKU’s worst loss to the Blue Raiders since 1978, when MTSU scored a 98-69 win in Murfreesboro. The 39 points scored by WKU was the fewest the Hilltoppers have scored in the series since 1935-36.

But more importantly, an already short-staffed Hilltopper team will have its work cut out for it in Hot Springs, Ark. next week.

“It’s one thing to lose a basketball game,” McDonald said. “But it’s another to be in position after all the stuff we’ve been through to do some good things against a big-time rival and then come out without the energy needed is another.
“It’s one thing if we played really, really hard and just lost the basketball game – we didn’t have that tonight.

“Losing to these guys, it makes me sick,” McDonald added. “But that’s life right now. And we have to change it.
“No one is going to feel sorry for us, you just have to go out and do it.”

MTSU 57, WKU 39 final

Tops score one point in the final five-plus minutes of action.

More later.

MTSU 45, WKU 35 – 7:47 left

MTSU answers WKU’s run with a 10-0 sprint of its own.

During the run, Juan Pattillo sloppily fouled Trevor Ottley on a layup – fouling Pattillo out with more than 10 minutes to play.

Kind of a microcosm of a whole lot of stuff right there folks.

WKU in big time trouble, 7:47 left.

MTSU 38, WKU 33 – 11:18 to play

The Hilltoppers use a 12-0 run to tie the game at 33-all, but MTSU answers with a few hustle plays and a triple by James Washington to go back up five.

Absolutely ugly ballgame going on right now.

Pettigrew leads WKU with 13 points and four rebounds, Juan Pattillo and Teeng Akol both have four fouls.

MTSU 29, WKU 19 – halftime

A half to forget for WKU indeed, as the Hilltoppers shoot just 7 of 26 from the floor and fall behind by 10 at the break.

WKU with eight turnovers, MTSU scored 15 points off of them.

Pettigrew leads WKU with eight, JT Sulton pacing MTSU with 10.

MTSU 20, WKU 17 – 3:49 first half

MTSU goes up by as many as nine, but WKU rattles off six in a row to get back into the game here late in the first half.

The Hilltoppers are just 6 of 23 from the floor, were 3 of 17 at one point.

Pettigrew has eight and four for WKU, Tops out-rebounding MTSU by five.

Blue Raiders shooting 8 of 22 from the field.

MTSU 16, WKU 11 – 7:55 first half

WKU clearly can’t score in the old Murphy Center, as the Tops start out 3 of 14 from the floor in a very poor opening 12 minutes.

MTSU shooting 7 of 17, led by 10 points from JT Sulton off the bench.

Caden Dickerson and Juan Pattillo both have two fouls for WKU.

MTSU 12, WKU 8 – 11:49 first half

WKU starts just 3 of 12 from the floor and we’ve got another ugly slug fest in the making.

JT Sulton scores MTSU’s first 10 points, but then goes to the bench with a pair of fouls.

Teeng Akol at the stripe when we return from the timeout.

MTSU 6, WKU 4 – 15:32 first half

Slow start on both sides offensively, WKU shoots just 2 of 7 – JT Sulton has all six points for MTSU on three 15-foot jumpers.

Might want to guard him.

Both teams feeling each other out early here.

WKU at Middle Tennessee – tip in 30 minutes

The Hilltoppers and Blue Raiders will battle for the No. 2 seed in the East Division here tonight.

WKU is looking to snap a three-game skid to MTSU, its first since the 1930s.

Follow along here or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nickbaumgardner