Final: WKU 61, UALR 59

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Jamal Crook found himself in the right place at the right time.

And because of that, Western Kentucky has a three-game win streak.

Crook’s tip-in with 0.7 seconds to play Thursday pushed WKU to a 61-59 win over host Arkansas-Little Rock at the Jack Stephens Center.

“The play was for (Steffphon) Pettigrew and I was just supposed to be at the top of the key to take my defender out of the play,” Crook said after the game. “But he went and helped, so I ran down the lane hoping no one saw me – and the ball got tipped, and I was at the right place at the right time.”

The win was WKU’s third straight, and eighth in its last 10 tries.

The victory also keeps the Hilltoppers in the hunt for a first-round bye in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament, as WKU current sits 1 1/2 games back of Middle Tennessee for second place in the Sun Belt East with three games left to play – as the Blue Raiders dropped a portion of their lead with an overtime loss at Troy on Thursday.

“Physical basketball game and we’re glad to be on this end of it,” WKU coach Ken McDonald said. “We talked a lot about how we were going to have to out-play them by one or two possessions and it comes down to a play we execute very well but had to make an extra play to win the basketball game.”

After UALR had erased a 10-point second half WKU lead and tied the game at 59 on a Solomon Bozeman putback with 28 seconds left, the Hilltoppers were left with one possession for the win.

The play was designed for Pettigrew to take the final shot, but as he went in the air, the ball was dislodged and batted toward the rim – where an alert Crook was waiting for the game-winning layup.

From there, Juan Pattillo would intercept UALR’s last-second heave to seal the victory.

“That last play there, that was a loose ball – and we didn’t have a white jersey there,” UALR coach Steve Shields said. “Give (Crook) credit – we were sound defensively, we made the right switch, we just didn’t get after the loose ball.”

Pettigrew agreed, saying Crook deserved the bulk of the credit for the heads-up play.

“First I got bumped and I thought they were going to call a foul, but the ball got tipped up in the air,” Pettigrew said. “But Jamal was right there in the right place at the right time to tip it in.

“This was a big win – we’ve got to keep building.”

 

 

For full coverage, see Friday’s Daily News

WKU 57, UALR 53 – 3:56 second half

Juan Pattillo still has not scored, as WKU is clinging to a four-point edge here down the stretch.

The Tops have been terrible from the field in the second half – as UALR has crept close a few times.

Kerusch has four fouls for WKU – and just three points.

WKU 52, UALR 46 – 7:43 left

The Hilltoppers continue to shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers, as the Hilltoppers now have 15.

UALR hanging around despite shooting just 34 percent for the game.

Sergio Kerusch has finally scored for the Hilltoppers – but Juan Pattillo is still scoreless.

Should be an interesting final eight minutes.

WKU 47, UALR 39 – 11:59 to go

Teeng Akol’s triple snaps a 1 of 9 start to the half by WKU – you heard me correctly, by the way.

Akol now with 11 points – a career-high – and six rebounds.

Pettigrew leads WKU with 13 and 8, as neither Sergio Kerusch or Juan Pattillo have scored.

Tops still up big on the glass – 29-19.

WKU 39, UALR 35 – 15:52 left

The Trojans have been the aggressor early here in the second, doing a much better job on the glass.

WKU just 1 of 7 to start the half – Sergio Kerusch is now 0 of 5, has not scored.

WKU 36, UALR 27 – halftime

Caden Dickerson triple just before the halftime buzzer puts the Hilltoppers up nine – matching their largest lead of the night.

Dickerson and Pettigrew led WKU with nine each – as the Tops shot 57.7 percent from the floor despite nine turnovers.

Teeng Akol added eight points, three rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

UALR shot just 37.9 percent – and leading scorer Solomon Bozeman had just two.

Tops also beating the Trojans on the glass, 19-11.

WKU 22, UALR 15 – 7:52

Steffphon Pettigrew went on a 7-0 run by himself, putting WKU up by as many as nine early.

WKU beating UALR on the glass 12-7, Pettigrew leads all scorers with nine points, Sergio Kerusch has five rebounds.

WKU does have five turnovers though.

WKU 11, UALR 7 – 15:56 first half

WKU has hit all four of its field goal attempts thus far, three of them behind the 3-point line, to take an early lead on UALR.

Kahlil McDonald with a pair of triples already, while Caden Dickerson has hit another.

 

WKU at UALR – Tip in 60 minutes

The Hilltoppers look to make it three in a row tonight when they visit Arkansas-Little Rock.

A win would put WKU at .500 on the season for the first time since early December.

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