Toppers upset ranked Pardue in Battle for Atlantis
On Thanksgiving, WKU Hilltopper Basketball was thankful for upsets.
The Hilltoppers (3-2) led No. 18/16 Purdue nearly the whole way – for 38 minutes and 41 seconds, in fact – and held on late to claim a 77-73 victory at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
It was WKU’s first win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 25 Old Dominion on Jan. 10, 2015, and the first win over a power conference foe since knocking off No. 24 Vanderbilt on Nov. 11, 2009.
Purdue (4-2) was the highest-ranked team WKU has defeated since No. 3 Louisville on Nov. 30, 2008.
The day before, Coach Rick Stanbury’s team had come close to an even bigger win, leading number 5 Villanova most of the game in the Battle 4 Atlantis opener before falling by eight points.
The Hilltoppers will face SMU in the fifth-place game of the tournament Friday night, which upset No. 2 Arizona Thursday evening.
WKU trailed 3-2 early in the game, but freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth buried his first 3-pointer to give the Hilltoppers a lead they never relinquished.
With WKU up 11-10, the Hilltoppers went on a 15-6 run, building a 27-16 advantage with 9:18 left in the first half on four straight points from freshman guard Jake Ohmer.
Ohmer scored 13 first-half points, including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer that gave WKU a 42-31 advantage at the break.
Purdue chipped away in the second half and even got as close as 75-73 with five seconds left, but WKU senior guard Darius Thompson netted two free throws to ice the win.
Senior forward Justin Johnson led WKU with 17 points and nine rebounds. His bucket with 21 seconds left stalled a Purdue run and gave WKU a 74-69 lead.
Ohmer and Hollingsworth each finished with 15 points, while Hollingsworth also added six rebounds and three assists. Thompson added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
WKU shot 50.9 percent from the field, outrebounded a much larger Purdue squad 36-33 and netted 11 of 13 free throws in the second half.
Isaac Haas paced Purdue with 22 points and six rebounds.
Arizona’s loss prevented the Toppers’ chance to play three straight ranked foes for the first time since 1974.