BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — After an 84-71 exhibition win over Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College Monday night, WKU wraps up preseason play Friday night at 7:00 (CT) against Kentucky Wesleyan at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Nine of the 10 Hilltoppers who saw action against the Blue Raiders scored, and WKU received 32 points from its bench in the game.
Hilltopper head coach Ray Harper lettered two years at KWC after transferring from the University of Texas and was named a third-team All-American in 1985, and then he coached nine seasons in Owensboro, went 247-46 (.843) and won the 1999 and 2001 NCAA Division II National Championships.
Third-year Kentucky Wesleyan head coach Happy Osborne returns six letterwinners, including three starters, from last season’s squad that finished second in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular season and tournament with a 22-8 overall record and a 10-4 mark in G-MAC play. The Panthers were picked to finish second in the league’s preseason coaches poll and were ranked 16th in the nation in Basketball Times preseason top 20 rankings.
After Friday’s game, WKU turns its attention to regular-season play, beginning Saturday, Nov. 14 against Campbellsville (Ky.) as part of the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase.
EXHIBITION GAME 2
WKU (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
November 6, 2015 | 7:00 PM (CT)
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena (7,326)
QUICK SHOTS
– WKU is 52-4 all-time in preseason exhibition games, and the Hilltoppers have won 20-straight preseason tune-ups dating back to a 2002-03 loss to the Harlem Globetrotters.
– Friday’s game is an exhibition contest, but WKU and Kentucky Wesleyan have played 34 regular-season games dating back to the 1921-22 season, with the Hilltoppers leading the series 25-9.
– One year after bringing back 72.5 percent of its scoring and 54.3 percent of its rebounding, WKU returns 33.0 percent of its scoring and 37.6 percent of its rebounding in 2015-16.
– The 2015-16 WKU roster has combined for 11 varsity letters at WKU, which follows last year’s roster combining for 17 and being the most experienced opening-day roster since 2008-09 (17).
– WKU’s home winning percentage of .813 in 2014-15 (13-3) was its best since going undefeated at E.A. Diddle Arena in 2008-09 (13-0).
– The team’s leading returning scorer, redshirt-junior Chris Harrison-Docks, is 407 points away from becoming the 49th player in Hilltopper Basketball history to score 1,000 career points.
– Junior Ben Lawson blocked 53 shots in 2014-15, which was the most by a Hilltopper since Juan Pattillo swatted 56 in 2010-11, and his block-per-game average of 1.7 was fourth-best in Conference USA.
– WKU will be replacing the sixth-leading scorer in program history and the all-time leader in three-pointers (T.J. Price) and the 13th-leading scorer and eighth-leading rebounder (George Fant) in 2015-16.
– WKU was picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll and had no players voted to the 10-member Preseason All-C-USA Team.
– WKU’s 23 NCAA Tournament appearances are six more than the next closest Conference USA school (UTEP, 17), and the eight league schools with the fewest appearances in the Big Dance combine for 22.
– Entering 2014-15, WKU is tied for 16th in NCAA history in all-time victories (1,719) and tied for eighth in all-time winning percentage (.665).
– WKU has won 19 of its last 23 regular-season home games, and the Hilltoppers are 42-12 at E.A. Diddle Arena under head coach Ray Harper (.778) and 26-7 over the last two seasons.
BROADCAST
Listen: 100.7 FM (Bowling Green), TuneIn Radio (free) (Randy Lee, pxp | Hal Schmitt, analysis)
Watch: WKUSports.tv ($) (radio simulcast)
Live Stats: WKUSports.com (free)
PROMOTIONS
Mr. B’s Weekday Two-Pack: 2 tickets to the game and a small pizza for $25
Postgame Autograph Session
TICKETS
WKU Ticket Office: online at WKUSports.com, in person at E.A. Diddle Arena, via phone at 1-800-5-BIG Red or 745-5222 locally
How to Follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUBasketball on Twitter, at WKUBasketball on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUBasketball.
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