BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Hagen Tyler scored a career-high 28 points and hit eight 3-pointers but Campbellsville could not match the height and length Western Kentucky University threw at them, falling 97-77.
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The exhibition matchup is the seventh game in the series with Western Kentucky winning all seven over Campbellsville (4-0). Western Kentucky played the game as a part of the Gulf Coast Showcase and starts the season 1-0.
"I say this about all the exhibitions we play against NCAA DI opponents - what you saw tonight was just a complete different level of basketball," said CU coach Keith Adkins. "What we saw tonight was a different level of athleticism and size. We just couldn't match either one of those things. The talent level was right there but we did not have an answer for the seven-foot centers and the beast of Justin Johnson."
Johnson was a force for the Hilltoppers, scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high 15 boards – nine of those on the offensive end. The seven-footer of Ben Lawson also pitched In with 13 points for WKU.
Campbellsville lit it up from behind the arc, hitting 46 percent on 12-of-26 shots. Tyler's eight triples is the second most hit in Diddle Arena's 58-year history and he did so in front of 3,424 in attendance. The record is held by WKU's Johnny Miller, who knocked down 9-of-11 3-pointers on Feb. 15, 1997 against Louisiana Tech.
"Hagen is really special," said Adkins. "He has a great feel for the game and can really shoot the basketball. But now the rest of his game has to come together to match that shooting. There is no question he can shoot the ball with anyone at any level but he just has to bring all the other things together and when he does that he will be a very special basketball player."
The Tigers could not hold down WKU's Nigel Snipes who nailed five 3s and led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 24 points. Also, Fredrick Edmond was a beast in the paint, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
That was the name of the game for Campbellsville – too much size and athleticism - as Western Kentucky out-rebounded the Tigers 54-30 and WKU had 25 of those on the offensive end - scoring 31 second chance points. The Hilltoppers also scored 51 bench points.
"A little bit of the stats are skewed," said Adkins. "Snipes and Chris Harrison-Docks are two of their top players and they both come off the bench. Coach Harper has a reason for bringing those guys off the bench and it works great when you get production from your starting lineup and also can come in with 32 points between two guys."
The Tigers came out hot, hitting their first three 3-point attempts and took a brief lead of three points, 9-6, after Elliott Young nailed hit first triple of the night with 16:26 left in the opening period.
Campbellsville was able to knot the game at 16 points with 12:45 left but WKU started to stretch its lead, going on a 19-7 run to give the Tigers their biggest deficit in the first half, 37-25. Campbellsville would be unable to recover.
CU was able to cut the lead to seven after knocking down five consecutive free throws- three by Harris and two by Dominique Harding but Western Kentucky extended its lead back to 10 at halftime, 49-39.
Trailing by 10 points at halftime, Western Kentucky came out hitting on all cylinders to put the game out of reach. The Hilltoppers matched their largest lead of 13 points at the 15:21 mark and completed a 20-6 run to start the second half, jumping out to a 69-45 lead with 12:49 left.
Harding, the truest big man that could match up with the size of Western Kentucky, was in foul trouble all night, only playing 20 minutes in his first collegiate start. He ended up fouling out with 8:05 left to play and Campbellsville was unable to match the size Western Kentucky had in the paint. The Hilltoppers scored 58 of their 97 points in the paint.
Western Kentucky jumped out to its largest lead of the night at 28 points with 4:41 left and was able to continue on for its first victory in 2015.
Sekou Harris (14), Elliott Young (13) and Dii-jon Allen-Jordan (10) all joined Tyler in double-figures.
WKU will now travel to Nashville, Tenn. for a matchup with Belmont on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Campbellsville will start Mid-South Conference play on the road on Thursday, Nov. 19 at Shawnee State University. Tipoff will follow the women's game and is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Fans can listen to the game live on the Campbellsville University Sports Network – 88.7 The Tiger (www.wlcufm.com).
