Western Kentucky (1-0) opened the regular season at Diddle Arena on Tuesday night with a 79-74 win over Alabama State (0-1).
The Hilltoppers trailed Alabama State for a majority of the game but a 9-0 run in the final minutes helped secure a WKU victory.
Jairus Hamilton led the way for the Hilltoppers with 21 points. Dayvion McKnight also had a big night with 19 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Alabama State junior forward Trace Young led the Hornets with 23 points, nine rebounds and one assist.
Juan Reyna had 16 points for the Hornets while Isaiah Range chipped in with 14.
The Hornets shot 48% (28-58) from the field whereas the Hilltoppers were 44% (28-64) from the field. Alabama State additionally led in three-point shooting at 41% (9-22) while WKU was just 32% (6-19).
From the free-throw line, WKU was 57% (17-30) while Alabama State was an efficient 82% (9-11).
After turning the ball over 12 times in the first half, WKU tightened things up, only turning the ball over five times in the second half.
It was a 5-2 WKU lead to start the game, but then Alabama State went on a 12-0 run to take advantage throughout the rest of the first half.
After a Trace Young three-pointer at the 5:13 mark in the first half, the Hornets built their largest lead of the game at 32-18.
A McKnight layup and a thunderous, posterizing dunk from the high-flying Josh Anderson on a fast break ignited the Diddle Arena crowd and helped spark a 13-4 run for the Hilltoppers to close out the first half and trail 36-31 at the break.
At halftime, Hamilton led the Hilltoppers with 11 points. Jaylen Butz was the second highest scorer with seven points and four rebounds.
Trace Young led the Hornets with 17 points, three rebounds and one assist. Isaiah Range had seven points and two rebounds.
Western Kentucky guard Sherman Brashear made two big three-pointers in the second half, the first coming at the 9:41 mark to cut Alabama State's lead to 56-50.
Brashear would make the Diddle Arena crowd erupt in cheer again with 8:02 remaining, nailing his second three-pointer to pull the Hilltoppers to within two at 59-57.
At the 4:02 mark, McKnight made a layup and a free throw to give WKU a 64-63 lead and spark a 9-0 run for the Hilltoppers to give them a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
A last-minute opportunity by Alabama State came up short and resulted in a scuffle between both teams as McKnight was fouled hard and collided into the scorekeepers table.
The aggression displayed by both teams resulted in a Class A technical foul on Hamilton who rushed over immediately.
That resulted in made free throws by Alabama State guard Juan Reyna on the technical foul while McKnight also made his two attempts on the personal foul.
After the dust settled, the Hilltoppers took down the Hornets by a final score of 79-74.
WKU heads to Asheville, North Carolina to compete in the 2021 Asheville Championship. The Hilltoppers take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday night. Tip off is at 5:30 p.m.
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