WKU goes scoreless in overtime, loses to La Tech 85-74

After a well-fought forty minutes of action, the Hilltoppers went ice-cold in overtime, as Louisiana Tech went on a 11-0 run in the extra frame to hand Western Kentucky a 85-74 loss on Thursday night.

With the loss, WKU drops to 11-8 overall on the season and 3-5 in Conference USA. La Tech improves to 11-8 and 4-4 in conference.

Jamarion Sharp lead the Hilltoppers in scoring tonight with 15 points, and he also grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks. Sharp was extremely active tonight on both ends, which is a great sign for the future, because they'll need him to impact the game on this level night in and night out.

Dayvion McKnight added 12 points and eight assists, he had one steal as well. McKnight always finds a way to get his teammates involved and impact the game without scoring the ball a lot. He's a guy that you always enjoy playing with due to his unselfishness.

IT WAS OVER WHEN: LA Tech shifted gears as soon as overtime started, as they opened the period up with an and-one right under the rim. This play shifted the momentum of the game and the Bulldogs seemed to feed right off it. All while they were hitting just about anything they put up, WKU could never start clicking on the offensive end. They were able to get some good looks, but nothing fell for the Hilltoppers.

HE STOLE THE SHOW: Center Jamarion Sharp had an excellent game on both sides of the ball tonight. He finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks on the defensive end. Sharp was everywhere for the entire game, with multiple vicious dunks and swats. He also missed just two shots tonight, ending the game making six of his eight field goal attempts.

THE STAT DOESN'T LIE: LA Tech was able to outscore WKU 17-6 on second chance points. It's hard to win any game when the opponent is winning in the hustle stats, even though the rebounding margin was pretty close (WKU 29-LA Tech 33), but still those are extra possessions that come back to bite you at the end of games.

WHAT A PLAY: WKU nearly went into halftime down 35-34, but senior Jordan Rawls was able to push the ball up the court in a hurry, and he made a three-pointer off the glass to give the Hilltoppers a two point lead and the momentum going into the half.

THE BOTTOM LINE: WKU played solid basketball for 40 minutes, but they couldn't get it going in overtime, resulting in a loss that was very winnable. The Hilltoppers will have to play better down the stretch of these next couple of conference games to get back in the win column and build some much needed momentum to make a run at the conference championship. WKU will be back at home this Saturday against a Charlotte team with a similar 3-5 conference record and current two-game losing streak. Tipoff is set for 6:00 PM (CT).

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