The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Dwight Coleby came up with two big defensive plays down the stretch to help the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers prevail with a 92-84 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The fourth seeded Hilltoppers’ victory on Wednesday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma, secured their berth in the National Invitation Tournament semi-finals for the first since 1948. They will now go on to play Utah 7pm Tuesday at Madison Square Garden on ESPN. The NIT provides a venue for those teams that didn’t make the NCAA March Madness to display their skills.

Coleby’s two key defensive plays came in the final one minute and 43 seconds in the game, including a big block as he protected the rim and their lead after the Hilltoppers scored the final six points when they pulled away from an 80-77 advantage over the Cowboys.

While freshman Taveion Hollingsworth matched his career high 30 points, Lamonte Beardan had 19 and Coleby finished with a double-double - 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The 6-foot, 9-inch Coleby was 7-of-10 from the floor as he either connected on dunks or lay-ups as coach Rick Stansbury utilised the Kansas transfer. “Coach just preached all season that we’ve got to get the ball inside the post, play inside-out and put pressure on the defence by attacking,” said Coleby after the game.

“Our guards did a great job of feeding the post and driving the ball in there. That’s how we put pressure on the defence. It worked out for us.” Coleby, 24, is averaging 27.5 minutes per game, well over his previous career high of 16.5 in the 2014-15 season at Mississippi with 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game and leads WKU in both offensive rebounds (2.4 per game) and blocked shots (1.7 per game), the latter placing him as the 4th-best among all Conference USA players. “He was a man,” Stansbury said. “For a guy like (Coleby), who hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, to come in and do what he’s done this year, I’m proud for him.”