NCAAB Game Recap - Western Kentucky at Arkansas
Sat Dec 8, 2018 3:30 PM EST

NMSt
60
Kansas
63
F
Yale
58
Duke
91
F
SouthCar
78
Mich
89
F
Dayt
72
Aub
82
F
KY
83
Seton
84
F(OT)
MSU
63
Fla
59
F
UConn
71
FSU
79
F
Wisc
69
Marq
74
F(OT)
KSU
46
Tuls
47
F
Buff
80
StBon
62
F
StJos
58
Vill
70
F
Clem
71
MissSt
82
F
LoyIL
41
MD
55
F
Crei
75
Nebras
94
F
Furm
74
USC-Up
60
F
Schr
53
AbCh
93
F
(N/A)
53
E MI
105
F
WichSt
48
Okla
80
F
Pitt
59
WVU
69
F
DeP
68
NW
75
F
(N/A)
69
IndSt
77
F
(N/A)
58
CenCT
79
F
UAB
76
Mem
94
F
Gram
45
UCF
70
F
WCU
71
UNCA
59
F
Maris
79
Stetsn
75
F
LIU
74
StPet
58
F
URI
79
HolyC
63
F
Morg
74
Tows
69
F
(N/A)
67
NrthIA
75
F
BYU
74
Utah
59
F
UMKC
65
SDak
63
F
Lafy
77
Quin
88
F
W MI
88
YSU
77
F
Colg
65
PSU
76
F
IPFW
79
Mia-O
85
F
UNLV
74
Ill
77
F
UMBC
91
Drex
76
F
Maine
52
Dart
78
F
Stony
69
Brown
71
F
NCC
73
App
82
F
Xav
47
Cin
62
F
Rut
70
Ford
78
F
LoyMD
83
Bingha
65
F
Lou
67
Ind
68
F
Toled
75
Marsh
74
F(OT)
(N/A)
87
SIU-E
92
F
(N/A)
55
GWebb
102
F
W Ky
78
Ark
77
F
GTown
71
Syr
72
F
Radf
69
Ohio
78
F
Amer
83
How
85
F
Rider
73
Hof
89
F
Oakl
83
NE
92
F
W&M
76
Hamp
71
F
StFNY
60
NJIT
82
F
(N/A)
67
NCAT
92
F
ArkSt
56
Minn
72
F
GaSo
89
Mercer
74
F
Valpa
82
GrgWas
79
F
SHSU
65
ColSt
71
F
(N/A)
62
Bois
82
F
Army
66
AF
61
F
(N/A)
74
UTSA
104
F
Tul
60
USA
81
F
Hou
63
OkSt
53
F
Sien
74
RobM
71
F
Leh
85
MtStM
78
F
Penn
83
LaSal
65
F
WriSt
76
Kent
83
F
TN-M
62
ETSU
80
F
UtSt
76
Web
67
F
NIU
68
Butl
95
F
S UT
86
CenMI
95
F
HCU
80
TxSt
90
F
(N/A)
33
APSU
116
F
JSU
81
DelSt
54
F
ChBap
45
Alc
109
F
TexAr
61
N TX
63
F
IL-C
72
Colora
84
F
(N/A)
57
JU
100
F
NoKY
74
E KY
76
F
WIGB
68
BGSU
97
F
CenAR
85
ArkLR
82
F
LongB
71
Fres
92
F
Harv
65
Vermt
71
F
Monm
63
Albany
82
F
SIU
83
SEMO
73
F
E IL
74
W IL
67
F
NebOm
61
Oreg
84
F
E WA
67
NDSU
74
F
UtVal
98
NoAZ
78
F
Murr
64
MTSU
42
F
Miss
81
IlSt
74
F
(N/A)
70
TXSo
107
F
(N/A)
48
CBU
87
F
ArkPB
45
UCSB
55
F
Sac
67
Portl
76
F
JackSt
66
Pepp
69
F
BethC
78
CAPoly
80
F(OT)
CSBak
73
Ida
67
F
Mont
51
UCIrv
60
F
ND
62
UCLA
65
F
SDSU
83
Cal
89
F
(N/A)
75
HI
82
F
BC
TAMU
Canc

Dec 8, 2018, 3:30 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Western Kentucky

33

45

78

Arkansas

41

36

77

Bassey leads Western Kentucky in 78-77 upset of Arkansas
Sat Dec 8, 2018 6:59 PM

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) With fewer than 30 seconds left in Western Kentucky's game against Arkansas, Hilltoppers center Charles Bassey got the ball in the lane and was met by a couple Razorbacks defenders.

Instead of forcing it, the NBA prospect made a smart read and dumped the ball off to a wide-open Marek Nelson, who laid it in with 19 seconds to go.

Bassey then emphatically blocked Jalen Harris' layup on the other end and altered a last-second attempt from Daniel Gafford, and the Hilltoppers earned their second power-five road upset of the season in a 78-77 victory over Arkansas.

"Charles was a man," said Western Kentucky (5-4) coach Rick Stansbury. "He stood up and held his own. He made a great read late in that game. Those are the kind of plays and kind of games that will make him better, too."

Bassey finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. His low-post battle with Gafford proved to be a rare post-play highlight in a game that's increasingly oriented around the 3-point shot. The Nigeria native held his own against the Razorbacks' star forward, despite the Arkansan going for 17 points and nine rebounds of his own.

"Gafford is a terrific player," Stansbury said. "Not many big guys can run like Gafford. I thought (Charles) got into his legs a little bit today from a fatigue standpoint."

When Josh Anderson was ejected from the game after picking up a flagrant-two foul, the Hilltoppers turned to Jared Savage and Taveion Hollingsworth to pick it up on the offensive end to complement Bassey's low-post dominance. They responded by scoring 20 and 17, respectively.

"I think we just locked in defensively. Offensively, we had toughness coming out of halftime," Savage said.

The Razorbacks (6-2) were led by freshman guard Isaiah Joe, who scored 15 of his 19 points by way of the 3-pointer. He now has 33 3s on the season, which ties Anthlon Bell for the ninth-most made 3s by a freshman in program history.

Gafford's final basket came on a rebound putback with 45 seconds left in the second half that gave his team a lead.

Razorback coach Mike Anderson said the plan was to get the ball to Gafford coming out of a timeout after Nelson's go-ahead layup, but the Hilltoppers' defense deserved the credit for shutting him down and ending Arkansas' 64-game home winning streak when leading at halftime.

"(We were thinking) let's get the ball in to Dan, and if they collapse what they were doing, let's get it to the shooters," Anderson said. "They made a good play ... big fellow blocked the shot."

BIG PICTURE

Arkansas: After locking down on defense to survive at Colorado State, the Razorbacks were unable to replicate that against Western Kentucky. Gaps in the Razorbacks' defense allowed the Hilltoppers to get open shots, and they shot 60 percent from behind the arc in the second half. ... Poor free-throw shooting finally played a role in an Arkansas loss, as the Hogs shot a forgettable 9 for 16 at the line. They came into the game shooting 63 percent.

Western Kentucky: Since 2017, the Hilltoppers have beaten SMU, Boston College, Purdue, USC, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Arkansas. ... The C-USA team dominated the pace throughout the game and exploited Arkansas' full-court press for easy layups. Players took advantage of Arkansas' tendency to jump on pump fakes and drew fouls and easy dunks. They were able to survive an 11-for-17 free-throw performance to earn the victory.

UP NEXT

Western Kentucky returns home to play Troy on Dec. 16.

Arkansas will host UTSA in its annual North Little Rock game next Saturday.

Leaders

Western Kentucky PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
C. Bassey 21 0 1 9 0 5
J. Savage 20 0 0 3 0 0
Arkansas PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
I. Joe 19 0 1 3 1 0
D. Gafford 17 0 1 9 1 2

Team Comparison

W Ky Ark
Points For 78 77
Field Goals 29/58-50% 30/69-43%
Three Pointers 9/22-41% 8/25-32%
Free Throws 11/17-65% 9/16-56%
Offensive Rebounds 8 9
Defensive Rebounds 29 25
Rebounds 41 37
Blocks 8 4
Steals 4 6
Turnovers 14 7
Personal Fouls 15 13
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 1 0

2018-19 Reg Season - W Ky Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sat Dec 8 W Ky 78 @ Ark 77 C. Bassey 21 I. Joe 19

Game Information

Stadium: Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Attendance: 14,488
Game Time: