Saturday, March 8, 2003

Western Kentucky escapes past FIU, 71-60, in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament

IU gives No. 1 seed Western Kentucky a tough game, before bowing out, 71-60, in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Bowling Green, KY.

The Hilltoppers will go on to play the winner of the UALR/North Texas contest in the semifinals.

Carlos Morban led three Golden Panthers in double-figure points with 16, all in the second half. Eulis Baez and senior Fab Fisher each scored 10 in the losing effort.

Baez recorded his 11th double-double on the season with a game-high 12 rebounds and tied his career-high with five assists.

In their final games in the blue and gold, Nikola Novakovic scored eight points and Carlos Fernandez added seven, all of the bench.

A sellout crowd of over 7,000 people greeted the Golden Panthers as they came onto the court. FIU was unfazed, however, taking an 8-6 lead in the first four minutes.

After Western Kentucky took a 12-8 advantage, Fab Fisher nailed a three-point basket from the far baseline. FIU would take the lead on a Junior Matias trey, 18-16.

FIU's defense was stifling as the night before against New Orleans, holding the Hilltoppers scoreless for over four minutes.

The Golden Panthers would increase the lead to 25-18 with four minutes remaining in the half, thanks to a 10-2 run.

Western would then be the ones imposing its defense, holding FIU to one point in the final 4:15 of the first half. The Hilltoppers would use that to tie the game at 26 going into the halftime.

FIU continued its hot shooting, hitting 10-of-20 shots (50-percent), while Western was 9-of-22 (40.9-percent).

FIU took the lead again going on a 6-0 run to start the second half, with Eulis Baez hitting two jumpers.

Morban nailed a three-pointer to put FIU up 39-32, but Carlos Fernandez was charged with a technical foul for throwing a punch.

WKU's David Boyden would be charged with an indirect technical on the subsequent possession for hanging on to the rim on a dunk.

The Hilltoppers would slowly climb back to tie the game at 49 on a Mike Wells trey. Western's premier players then put some space between the teams, as Patrick Sparks and Filip Videnov both hit from beyond the arc to go up by six, 55-49.

WKU increased the advantage to 12, 64-52, on a 18-6 run that spanned over five minutes. FIU clawed back on a 6-0 run, to bring the score back to 64-58 at the 1:48-mark.

The Hilltoppers used their defense to end FIU's season, not allowing the Golden Panthers to make a field goal the final 1:48.

Western would hit five free throws and a field goal to close out the game with the final score of 71-60.

WKU scored 45 points in the second half, led by Mike Wells 11 points in the half. They shot 63.6-percent (14-for-22) from the floor in the second stanza and 52.3-percent (23-for-44) for the game.

There was quite a disparity in free-throw attempts, as Western held a 41-16 advantage. FIU was charged with seven fouls in the first four minutes of the second half and still held a 32-28 lead.

The Hilltoppers didn't shoot well from the charity stripe, making only 51.2-percent (21-for-41), while FIU hit 81.3-percent (13-for-16).

FIU made 21 costly turnovers to WKU's 10, but the Golden Panthers out-rebounded the Hilltoppers, 33-25.

"I thought our kids fought and battled," said head coach Donnie Marsh. "Our players did a great job on the court tonight."

The Golden Panthers end the season at 8-21, while Western Kentucky upped their mark to 22-8.