Three games in three days. Only eight players in uniform. Down 10 points with 10 minutes to play. None of that mattered to the Hilltoppers on Friday night. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers only led for 1:13 against SMU, but freshman guard Jake Ohmer buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 4.5 seconds left to secure a dramatic 63-61 win in both teams’ finale at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.
SMU (5-2) went up 50-40 with 10:19 to play after a 9-2 run, but the Hilltoppers kept chipping away. They still trailed 61-57 with 1:21 left, but redshirt junior guard Lamonte Bearden knocked down a 3 to get the Tops within one with 1:03 remaining. WKU took a timeout with 19 seconds left to set up the final play after a missed free throw by SMU, and Ohmer sent the Hilltopper contingent into a frenzy with his game-winning heroics.
Ohmer scored nine points on three 3-pointers, all of which came after SMU built its 10-point lead in the second half.
Bearden led WKU with 14 points, six assists and five steals, and senior guard Darius Thompson added 13 points. Senior forward Dwight Coleby notched his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds in his final game in his native Bahamas.
The Hilltoppers shot 45.5 percent from the field and outscored SMU 34-30 in the paint, overcoming a 39-27 deficit on the boards.
Ethan Chargois paced SMU with 21 points.
The Hilltoppers return home to host longtime rival Eastern Kentucky Wednesday at Diddle Arena.
(Courtesy WKU Athletics)