Coach Rick Stansbury wanted to avoid a let down after the emotionally draining overtime win against UTSA on Thursday.

However, WKU answered the bell again, in a less dramatic fashion.

The Tops led almost the entire game and took down the Miners. Charles Bassey notched his 5th double double in 6 games with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Josh Anderson also contributed 18 points and Jared Savage added in 14 points for the Tops.

The Tops would rely on zone defense mainly in the second half to stifle the Miners offense and hold them to 36 percent shooting for the game. UTEP’s Nigel Hawkins and Evan Gilyard were the only ones on their team to reach double digits.

While the Tops offense didn’t flow as well as it did against UTSA, the Tops did a much better job of stopping runs by the Miners. WKU proved they can land the game ending punch without waiting for the last second to do it.

The Tops now improve to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play. They will hit the road again next week to take on Rice and then North Texas.