BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Freshman Leif Moeller scored a career-high 21 points on Saturday as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team staged a furious rally before falling one point short in an 80-79 loss to Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon inside E.A. Diddle Arena.
Moeller drained his first five 3-point attempts in the second half and finished with five boards and four assists. Connor Turnbull came within striking distance of a triple double. He scored 17 points while posting a career-high nine blocked shots and eight caroms. Alex Hemenway recorded 14 points, three assists, and three boards. AJ Casey had another solid effort posting nine points and six caroms.
“I thought we really did a good job in the first half but let them get some momentum heading into halftime,” UE head coach David Ragland exclaimed. “They were able to build a double-digit lead in the second half but I am proud of how we never gave up and fought back. This is a tough place to play and I told our group that every possession matters especially on the road. There are several positives to take away from today.”
Keishon Porter opened the game with a basket while Leif Moeller connected from downtown to give UE a 5-0 lead. Both teams struggled from the field in the opening minutes with WKU starting 1-of-7 while UE was 2-for-8. Connor Turnbull got the Aces back on track with a 3-pointer before Porter and Alex Hemenway hit from outside to cap an 18-8 lead just over seven minutes in.
Over the next two minutes, the Hilltoppers scored eight in a row to get back within a pair, but a Trent Hundley triple and two baskets by Turnbull reestablished a 8-point lead at 27-19 inside of the 6-minute mark. With just over four minutes left in the half, Western Kentucky made it a 3-point game with Hemenway having the response. His second triple of the day made it a 30-24 score.
Eleven in a row by the Hilltoppers saw them take their first lead of the game at 36-30 before a pair of late free throws made it a 36-32 game at halftime. Ryan Myers had a game-high 19 points in the half while Turnbull had 12 points, four boards, and five blocked shots.
WKU grabbed a 42-34 edge in the opening moments of the second stanza with Leif Moeller converting a triple to cut into the deficit. The Hilltoppers started to take control as they opened a 58-34 lead with 13:17 on the clock. Moeller single handedly kept the Aces in the game connecting on his first five 3-point attempts of the half. His fifth made it a 10-point game (70-60) with 7:50 remaining.
Evansville added four more during the run to get within six. During the 7-0 run, the Aces held Western Kentucky to four consecutive missed shots. A triple by the Hilltoppers ended the stretch as they would score the next five to go back up by 11 inside the 6-minute mark. UE continued to battle back, scoring the next nine points.
Following a pair of Moeller buckets, AJ Casey connected from outside while Porter hit a layup to make it a 75-73 game at the 3:35 mark. WKU retook a 5-point lead with 2:28 on the clock while Porter hit a pair of free throws with 41 ticks left to make it an 80-77 lead in favor of WKU. The defense got a stop on the other end to give the Aces one final chance. A triple fell short while UE added a field goal at the buzzer to make it a final of 80-79.
Myers paced WKU with a game-high 27 points while Teagan Moore scored 15. UE had a slight shooting advantage finishing at 44.1% while WKU shot 43.5%. The Hilltoppers completed the day with a 41-35 rebounding lead.
UE returns to action next Saturday at Notre Dame.
