WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 80, Western Kentucky 74
@Washington State 89,
SIUE 73
BELMONT 80, WESTERN KENTUCKY 74
NASHVILLE - Behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler(Indianapolis, Ind.), Belmont University men's basketball defeated Western Kentucky, 80-74, Wednesday night.
A boisterous crowd of 4,124 from the Curb Event Center watched as Belmont continued momentum built throughout the non-conference, highlighted by Saturday's victory at UCLA.
And the Bruins needed a poised, complete effort against the preseason Conference USA favorites, as Western Kentucky boasted victories over West Virginia and Arkansas.
Belmont rode balanced scoring - and bench contributions from Tate Pierson and Michael Benkert - to seize a 42-28 halftime lead.
The Bruins made 10 3-pointers in the first 25 minutes of the game, extending the lead to 55-36 on a Grayson Murphy make from behind the arc.
Western Kentucky strong strong play from Josh Anderson and Dalano Banton - as well as perfect free throw shooting in the second half - to close within 60-55 with 10:12 left.
But five straight points from Kevin McClain gave Belmont a 71-59 lead with 4:07 remaining. The Hilltoppers got within four points twice within the final 30 seconds, but Nick Muszynski made four straight free throws in the final 25 seconds to secure the victory.
For Windler, it was a fifth double-double on the season, while Murphy provided a career-high 20 points and three steals. McClain, fresh off his UCLA heroics, delivered 12 points, eight assists and four steals.
Anderson and Charles Bassey led Western Kentucky (5-6) with 16 points each.
Belmont (9-1), receiving national Top 25 poll votes this week, has won 109 of its last 117 home games dating back to 2010.
WASHINGTON STATE 89, SIUE 73
PULLMAN, Wash. - A career-high 24 points from David McFarland wasn't enough as Washington State defeated SIUE 89-63 in the second game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.
SIUE, along with seven other teams, will now travel to Las Vegas for two tournament games over the weekend. SIUE dropped to 2-7 with the loss. Washington State improved to 7-3 and a perfect 6-0 at home.
The SIUE Cougars shot 44.6 percent from the game, including shooting 47 percent (15-32) during the second half, but landed just 6 or 17 free throw attempts.
Both teams turned the ball over 16 times, a season high for SIUE. Washington State turned SIUE's 16 turnovers into 28 points. Washington State connected on 50.9 percent (27-53) of its shots and 28 of 33 free throw attempts.
McFarland matched his career-best with 24 points for the second time this season. He was 10-14 from the field and 4 of 8 from three-point range.
After trailing by 14 at the break, SIUE stayed within two of Washington State in the second period.
Brandon Jackson score 13 points for SIUE and Daniel Kinchen added 12. Robert Franks, Jr. and C.J. Elleby scored 18 points each to lead Washington State.