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November 29, 1986

New York, NY - Ah, New York. Where they once sold an island for $24 and where they now sell ham and eggs for $15.

New York, where a fan at Friday night's basketball game actually yelled" "Shoot the Puck."

New York, where the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers toddled and tottered but failed to topple in beating Memphis State 68-67. The victory propelled the Hilltoppers (3-0) into last night's championship game of the Coca-Cola National Invitation Tournament against No. 5 Nevada-Las Vegas.

Up eight points with 5:50 to play, the Hilltoppers allowed six unanswered points by the Tigers and eventually fell into a 67-67 tie at :37 when Memphis State's Vincent Askew drove the baseline for a short jumper.

Western's Kannard Johnson, almost taking steps in traffic under the basket, then was fouled with five seconds to play. He had missed his last two free throws.

Memphis State coach Larry Finch called two timeouts, all the better to tighten Johnson's collar, and the Western forward missed his first attempt. But he got the second one down, and Dwight Boyd mishandled the dribble under pressure to leave the Tigers without a final shot attempt.

Western had called a timeout after Johnson's free throw, sending Fred Tisdale in to defend Askew, Memphis State's best shooter.

"Fred's a very good defender. We called the timeout to make sure we were thoroughly organized," said Western coach Murray Arnold. "We had a mismatch problem with Askew all night. The guys we had on him were either too big or too small."

Finch said he thought Johnson might have traveled before the final foul, but said, "I'm not going to cry about it."

Askew had all 12 of his points in the second half, while Tellis Frank came off a one-point first half to lead the Hilltoppers with 17. Brett McNeal had 14 for the Hilltoppers and Clarence Martin added 13.

Arnold praised the manner in which guard James McNary took care of the ball on Western's last trip downcourt, eventually getting it to Johnson. "We couldn't have had better execution," he said.

"They kind of wore us down a little bit," said Finch, whose Tigers were outrebounded 36-31 and got scoring from only six players to Western's nine.

Western broke a 55-55 tie with Ray Swogger's two foul shots at 8:21 and the 6-foot-10 Frank then picked up the burden for the Kentuckians. He followed in a missed shot and ran the lead to eight with an eight footer at 6:22. Then Frank fed Johnson for a 63-55 lead.

"When Kannard got in foul trouble, I tried to take it inside," said Frank, who led Western in rebounding with eight, including five at his own end.

Except for an 11-10 score, Western never trailed in the first period in building a 35-31 edge. On three occasions the Hilltoppers built six-point advantages.

The last one of those came with only 1:38 left in the first half, when Johnson made the first of two free throws, but he missed the second, and 40 seconds later missed the front end of a bonus that deflated a minor Western spurt.

Another critical happening in the half's final three minutes was the fact that both 6-9 Johnson and the 6-8 Martin picked up their third foul for the Toppers.

The matter was complicated three seconds in the second half when John Wilfong took off with the ball and was fouled by Johnson on a layup. The free throw cut Western's lead to one, and 45 seconds into the half Boyd's baseline jumper put Memphis into its second lead, 36-35.

Arnold took the blame for Memphis' quick score, calling it smart coaching by Finch. "They suckered us," he said.

Martin started the game with a three-point play and his dunk at 16:49 gave Western a 9-4 jump. But the Tigers stayed close because 6-7 sophomore Marvin Alexander started throwing his weight around.

By halftime, the 235-pound Alexander had scored 15 points, much needed by Memphis because Askew was scoreless. Askew averaging 17.5 for his first three games, got off only three shots.

Alexander eventually would lead the losers with 18. When he took a three-minute rest late in the first half, it coincided with a run that helped Western push its edge to 32-26 with 3:15 left in the half.

Eight minutes into the second half, Memphis twice had gained three point leads and Askew had come alive with three baskets in a five-minute stretch. Freshman Sylvester Gray, who had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench, gave Memphis a 48-45 edge at 13:25, and after Frank answered that, Gray got a tip-in to make it three points again.

But McNary, held to one first-half basket, his his first three of the second half and that helped Western regain a 51-50 lead that was to seesaw for some time.

In addition, Western's front line of Johnson, Martin and Frank all had three personals with 10 minutes left in the game. A minute later McNary had his third.

"We were in extremely deep foul jeapordy," Arnold said.

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WKU vs. Texas Christian (1986 Preseason NIT)
WKU vs. Notre Dame (1986 Preseason NIT)
WKU vs. Dayton (1967 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Syracuse (1978 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Michigan (1966 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Loyola (Ill.) (1966 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Georgetown (1982 Wendy's Classic)
WKU vs. UAB (1/25/86 - Mars Bars Game)
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WKU vs.Florida St. (1993 NCAA Tournament)
WKU vs. Seton Hall (1993 NCAA Tournament)