Box Score BOWLING GREEN, Ky. ? Western Kentucky University (17-5, 9-1) extended its win streak to seven games with a 71-47 win over UALR (14-7, 6-4) Thursday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. UALR led by two at the break, but the Hilltoppers shot 53.3 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes and outscored the Trojans 46-20 in the second half.
WKU's Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton combined for 35 points in the win, with A.J. Slaughter adding 17 points off the bench ? 15 of which came in the second half. Junior De'Andre Eggins led the Trojans to their 27-25 halftime lead by scoring 16 of his season-high 22 points over the first 20 minutes.
Down 25-27 at the break, WKU opened the second half on a 15-6 run, with seven points from Brazelton and six from Lee, and never trailed again. Leading 42-37 with 11:26 remaining, after pair of foul shots by freshman Derrick Bails, the Hilltoppers put the game out of reach with an 11-0 run ? seven of which came compliments of Slaughter.
“I thought their second half success was fed by our turnovers and our lapses in transition defense,” said UALR head coach Steve Shields. “We were very efficient in the first half, but let them get into a rhythm in the second half.”
UALR shot just 29.4 percent on the night, including a meager .208 shooting percentage in the second half (5-of-24). In addition to their shooting woes, the Trojans committed 22 turnovers and tallied just five assists in the loss.
Eggins was the lone bright spot for UALR, scoring a season-high 22 points off 7-of-14 shooting. The Alexandria-La.-native, who made nearly half of the team's 15 field goals, also came up with a game-high seven rebounds.
“I thought De'Andre played very well tonight, and our guys did a good job of getting him the ball, especially in the first half,” added Shields.
UALR was on the mark from long range at the start of the game, connecting on its first four three-point attempts to build an 18-13 lead. Eggins accounted for two of the Trojans' first four three pointers, the last of which put UALR ahead 18-13 with 7:43 to play.
The Hilltoppers answered with a 12-2 spurt, including seven-unanswered points, to reclaim the lead with 3:32 remaining. WKU's run came without the services of Lee, who sat out the final 4:45 after picking up his second foul.
Down five, the Trojans scored the final seven points of the half (the last four by Eggins) to take a two-point lead into the break. It was all WKU in the second half, however, as the Hilltoppers connected on 16-of-30 attempts from the field, including a 6-of-10 effort from three point range.
UALR has the upcoming weekend off, and returns to action next Thursday at Middle Tennessee.
