FINAL SCORE: Western Kentucky 76, New Orleans 63

RECORDS:
Western Kentucky “Hilltoppers” — 8-16 overall, 6-7 Sun Belt Conference
New Orleans "Privateers" — 10-15 overall, 6-8 Sun Belt Conference

PLAY-BY-PLAY HIGHLIGHTS:
First Half — Nashon McPherson hits three-pointers at 19:40 and 17:13 to
start WKU’s game-opening 8-0 run (over 2:47) ... Clyde Ellis puts UNO on the
board with a tip-in of missed shot with 16:35 to go ... Tremain Rowles three
from the left corner extends Western lead to 13-2 with 15:05 remaining ...
Tory Walker three-pointer at 11:19 draws UNO to within six points, 15-9 ...
Rowles makes another three to put Hilltoppers up 18-9 at 11:02 ... Nathaniel
Bailey hits two treys as part of 8-0 Privateer spurt over 1:56 (WKU leads
18-17 with 8:41 left ... Toppers respond with 8-2 run to push advantage back
to seven, 26-19 (3:57) ... UNO closes half by scoring last nine points over
final 2:51 ... Bailey starts run with another three ... Walker 10-foot jumper
ties score at 26-26 with 1:17 to go ... Ben Adams dunk as clock runs out gives
Privateers first lead of the game.

Second Half — Chris Marcus layup to open half ties score 28-28 (19:41) ...
Desmond Baxter gives Privateers final lead, 30-28, on jumper at 19:25 ...
Toppers take good for lead on Derek Robinson trey at 17:30, starting 19-2
Western spurt over next 4:17 ... David Boyden hits putback and completes
three-point play as lead grows to 38-30 with 15:57 to go ... Walker tip-in
gives UNO only points during run at 15:35 (38-32) ... Marcus hits two free
throws to push lead to 47-32 with 13:13 remaining ... Bailey three from left
wing pulls Privateers to 49-39 at 11:10 ... Todor Pandov three-pointer at 8:05
caps eight unanswered points from Toppers (60-42), giving WKU largest lead ...
Toppers still lead 66-49 on two free throws from Robinson with 4:21 remaining
... Privateers score next seven points during 51-second span, trail 66-56 with
2:19 left ... Robinson ends run with trey at 1:47 ... Lee Lampley scores three
points — going 1 of 2 from the free-throw line and making a layup — inside the
final 30 seconds for Western’s final points ... Baxter closes scoring with
three from top of key as time expires.

QUOTES:
WKU Head Coach Dennis Felton — “It was a really good, solid win for us. ...
I was happy the way we bounced back after a miserable last 10 minutes of the
first half. ... I was surprised that they shot 45 percent in the second half,
because I thought our defense was really good. ... I’m very pleased with what
everyone did off the bench.”
UNO Head Coach Joey Stiebing — “I thought the difference in the game was
their ability to get second-chance shots. ... They handled our press much
better in the second half, and got good looks at the basket. When they shoot
like that, they’re as good as anyone in the Sun Belt. ... They’re one of the
best defensive teams in the league.”

NOTES — Marcus leads Western in rebounding for ninth consecutive game and
the 12th time in the last 13 contests ... McPherson has scored in double
figures in each of the last three games ... First WKU win this season when
trailing at the half — 50 points by the Toppers are the most they have scored
in the second half of a Sun Belt game this year ... Western shoots a
season-best 88.9 percent from the free-throw line ... Most points allowed by
Privateers this season, and only the second time they have allowed 70 or more
points — UNO entered the game leading the league and ranked 17th nationally
allowing 59.4 points per game ... WKU sweeps season series with UNO for the
second time in the last three years ... Hilltoppers have won six of the last
seven meetings in Bowling Green, leads the all-time series 11-7 ... Toppers
pass UNO in the conference standings, move into sixth place.

NEXT GAME — The Hilltoppers continue a three-game Sun Belt homestand against
Arkansas State Thursday at 7 p.m. CST ... UNO plays host to Louisiana Tech in
an SBC contest Thursday at 7:30 EST.