BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Taveion Hollingsworth and the Hilltoppers kept believing, and
that belief produced yet another memorable comeback.
Hollingsworth scored WKU’s last nine points in the final 38 seconds of Thursday’s
matchup with Old Dominion, bringing the Hilltoppers back from an eight-point deficit
with 1:20 remaining for a 71-69 win at E.A. Diddle Arena.
“We were the only ones who kept hope,” Hollingsworth said. “We’ve been in that
situation, coming from when we played Arkansas (a comeback win in overtime). I feel
like nobody believed in us then and we finished it there, so why couldn’t we finish
it now?”
WKU (11-6 overall, 4-1 Conference USA) found itself down 64-52 with 3:28 to play,
but outscored Old Dominion 19-5 the rest of the way in a rematch of last season’s
C-USA Tournament title game.
WKU still trailed 66-58 with 80 seconds left, but the Hilltoppers turned up the
defensive pressure the rest of the way and held Old Dominion (6-11, 2-2) to just
three points from that point forward.
The final 40 seconds belonged to Hollingsworth, who hit five free throws, a tough
mid-range jumper, and the game-winning layup with three seconds to play.
“Games are 40-minute games,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “For the most part,
the game was probably over at 37 minutes in most people’s minds. … At that point,
we’ve got to find a way to score baskets with the clock stopped, and we were pretty
efficient with that.”
WKU trailed in the first half but went on a 17-4 run that helped it take a 31-28
advantage into the locker room.
Old Dominion went on a 10-0 spurt early in the second half, and the Monarchs racked
up 48 points in the paint to control most of the frame.
Xavier Green, the MVP of ODU’s C-USA title game win last year over WKU, made his
first 3-pointer of the contest to push the Monarchs’ lead to 64-52 with 3:28 to go.
Needing every stop they could get, the Hilltoppers opted for full-court pressure
that caused Old Dominion fits.
In the last 1:20 alone, Hollingsworth drew an offensive foul and Old Dominion was
called for two turnovers that gave WKU a chance.
That was all they needed.
“We went to a full-court man press, and they were throwing it to the spots that we
wanted them to throw it to,” WKU redshirt senior guard/forward Jared Savage said.
“We would trap and rotate, and we got a few jump balls to go our way. We got a
steal, a travel. They were playing into what we wanted them to do.”
Hollingsworth finished with a game-high 23 points, netting 7 of 12 shots from the
field and 8 of 8 free throws.
He was one of five Hilltoppers in double figures, along with junior guard Josh
Anderson (13 points), redshirt junior forward Carson Williams (12), freshman guard
Jordan Rawls (11) and Savage (10).
Savage and Williams pulled down 10 and eight rebounds, respectively, while Savage
also blocked a career-high four shots.
Jason Wade had 22 points and 10 rebounds for ODU, which committed 15 turnovers that
WKU turned into 25 points.
