Western Kentucky (10-10, 2-5 C-USA) suffered a disappointing loss to league-leading UAB (17-4, 7-1 C-USA) on Thursday night as UAB junior guard Jordan Walker sinked a heartbreaking three-pointer from the top of the key with four seconds remaining to give the Blazers a 68-65 win.
With a few seconds left, WKU center Jamarion Sharp slammed home a lob pass to tie things up 65 before Walker drained the game-winning shot to hand Western Kentucky their fourth straight loss.
Fifth year guard Josh Anderson led the Hilltoppers' offense, recording 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Jamarion Sharp bounced back from last week's performance, scoring 11 points, six rebounds, and eight blocks.
Senior forward Jairus Hamilton and graduate guard Camron Justice finished with 10 points each.
Junior guard Jordan Walker led the Blazers on offense with 21 points and five assists.
Quan Jackson finished the game with 10 points, two steals and two blocks.
Michael Ertel also finished with 10 points before fouling out late in the second half.
Western Kentucky just narrowly lost the rebound battle, grabbing 35 rebounds as opposed to UAB's 36. The Hilltoppers had 15 turnovers, eight points off turnovers and 11 assists.
UAB won the rebounding battle 36-35 while also turning the ball over 11 times, scoring nine points off turnovers while dishing out 13 assists.
At the half, the Hilltoppers' offense was being led by Anderson and redshirt senior guard Luke Frampton who had six points each.
The Blazers were led by junior guard Jordan Walker who finished the first half with 14 points, one rebound and two assists.
Graduate guard Michael Ertel had seven points.
Western Kentucky also grabbed 16 rebounds, turned the ball over seven times while scoring two points off turnovers and grabbed five assists.
The Blazers won the rebounding battle in the first half 19-16 while also committing four turnovers, scored four points off turnovers and grabbed five assists.
Takeaways
Playing from behind: Western Kentucky trailed UAB for 37 minutes on Thursday night. The Blazers held a 37-24 lead at halftime. Josh Anderson helped spark a 10-0 run for the Hilltoppers in the second half to tie 41 with 13:36 remaining. WKU took a short-lived 63-62 lead with 43 seconds remaining after Camron Justice sank three free-throws, but UAB's Justin Brown drained a three-pointer on the Blazers next possession. A lob dunk from Dayvion McKnight to Jamarion Sharp tied the game at 65 with :22 second remaining before Jordan Walker hit the three-point dagger.
The Sixth Man spark: Josh Anderson once again led WKU in scoring, but it was the second half where Anderson truly shined, scoring 10 of his 16 points. He helped ignite the Hilltoppers' 10-0 run early in the second half to tie the game at 41 with 13:36 remaining.
Ice-cold from three: Although the Hilltoppers started off slowly on offense, the team's second half comeback effort was more successful. The reason WKU fell short had a lot to do with poor perimeter shooting where the Hilltoppers finished 4-of-17 from three-point range. Aside from Luke Frampton, who went 3-of-4 on his three-point attempts, the rest of the Hilltoppers were just 1-of-13.
What's Next?
Western Kentucky will take on rival Middle Tennessee on Saturday. The opening tipoff is at 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on ESPN+ and WKU PBS.
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