BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the second time in as many days, WKU (2-2) was involved in a one-point decision, unlike Monday's win over Cal State Northridge, however, the Hilltoppers came up on the wrong end of a last second free throw, falling 64-63 to Indiana State (4-2) on Tuesday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. The first meeting between the two programs in 67 years was the conclusion of the consolation bracket of the 25th Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.

Indiana State built a 14-point half-time lead, and led by double figures with 3:31 to play, but WKU rallied to tie the game with 0.6 left on freshman Jameson Tipping's lean-in three-pointer near the top of the key. But on the ensuing in-bounds pass, the Sycamores rifled the ball the length of the court, and as Jeremy Evans battled Rashad Reed for possession, Evans was whistled for the foul. Reed sank the first of two free throws with 0.1 on the clock to walk away with the win.

WKU tasted defeat at home for the first time in 21 months, having their 15-game homecourt winning streak snapped, the 10th longest in school history. The Tops were also going for win number 500 in the 47-year history of E.A. Diddle Arena.

After a nearly flawless performance at the line through 38 minutes, connecting on 14-of-15 attempts, the Sycamores were shaky in the closing moments, missing four of six attempts in the final 1:15 including three-straight which left the door open for the final Topper surge.

Trailing by nine with 1:51 to play, AJ Slaughter slashed for a layup to cut it to 62-55. Tipping then swiped the ball from Dwayne Lathan and kicked it ahead to Slaughter for a triple on the wing, drawing the Tops within 62-58 with 1:21 left. Slaughter stuggled in the first half, being held scoreless on 0-of-5 from the field. After going down with an injury at the 17:50 mark of the second half, he would return one minute later and begin an offensive tear, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting the rest of the way.

Jake Kelly converted one of two free throws while Steffphon Pettigrew was fouled on the rebound, and promptly stroked two at the stripe to draw WKU within a single possession at 63-60 with 1:14 on the clock. Pettigrew finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Each team missed a three-point shot, but Lathan made it to the line with 14.1 ticks left. Missing both attempts, Evans snared the rebound setting up the Toppers final attempt to tie. With Slaughter unable to shake free, the senior handed off to the redshirt freshman Tipping and he leaned in and hit the clutch shot which seemed to send the game to overtime at 63-63, if not for the final free throw by Reed.

Tipping, who did not see the floor in the opening stanza, finished with six points, two steals, and one assist in nine minutes.

In the first half, Indiana State dominated the glass early, building a 26-17 lead with 5:05 left behind a 20-6 edge on the boards. Lathan finished with a team-high 15 points, with 12 coming in the opening frame.

After shooting 51.7 percent in the first half, Indiana State managed just 7-of-21 second-half field goals to shoot 44.0 percent for the game (22-of-50). WKU was the opposite, with a chilly 29.0 percent first-half performance followed by a 51.7 percent shooting clip in the second half (24-of-60).

WKU returns to the road for their next game, playing at South Carolina on Wednesday, December 2 at 6:00 PM. The game will be televised live on SportSouth.

NIT NOTES:

• This marks WKU's fourth appearance in the Preseason NIT (1986, 1993, 1997, 2009)

• WKU falls to 5-5 all-time in the event

• WKU hosted a Preseason NIT game for the first time in 23 years; after a first round win at Notre Dame in 1986, WKU hosted TCU, winning 96-90

• WKU's two wins in the Preseason NIT is second only to the 1986 squad that finished as the tournament runner-up at 3-1

TEAM NOTES:

• WKU had its home court winning streak snapped at 15 games (tied for the 10th longest streak in school history, set during the 1939-40 and 1940-41 seasons)

• WKU suffered its first home loss under Ken McDonald, and the first in 21 months

• WKU is denied its 500th win at Diddle Arena (opened in 1963), and slips to 499-132 all-time

• WKU is now 120-14 at Diddle Arena this decade

• WKU had its string of 11-straight non-conference wins at Diddle Arena halted

• WKU drops to 3-2 all-time against Indiana State; Tuesday night was the first meeting between the programs in 67 years

• WKU falls to 62-37 all-time against the 10 current members of the Missouri Valley Conference for a .626 winning percentage

• WKU has now made a three-pointer in 675-straight games (dating back to the inaugural season for the shot in 1986-87), ranking sixth all-time

• WKU had its string of 23-straight wins when holding opponents to less than 70 points snapped (last such loss was to South Alabama, 69-64, on February 21, 2008)

• WKU had its streak of 15-straight wins when shooting 40.0 percent or better from the field halted

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

• Senior guard AJ Slaughter had 20 points to give him 1,060 for his career, moving into a tie with Bobby Jackson for 36th all-time; next up is former backcourt teammate Orlando Mendez-Valdez (1,067)

• Slaughter extended his career-best streak of scoring in double figures to 22

• With two made field goals, Jeremy Evans now has 300 for his career and qualifies for the career field goal percentage ranking, moving to number one on the list at .625, passing Darius Hall (1992-95) at .621

• Evans made his 100th career start tonight, moving him within one of tying Bobby Jones (1981-84) for fifth all-time

QUOTES:

Head Coach Ken McDonald
Overall thoughts on tonight’s game:
"I thought the last few minutes were very hard-fought on our part. I didn’t think we put together a good game from any standpoint going into the last eight minutes. These were two good teams early in the season, and there’s a lot of improvement to go on over the next couple of weeks going into our next game."

On where the most improvement is needed moving forward:
"We need a little bit of focus and a little bit of energy. At times, if you watch tape of the last eight minutes of this game and you watch the tape of the first or second eight minutes of the game, I think you see a drastic change in the energy and focus. I think we’re getting some quality minutes at times from the bench and I think we’re getting a guy or two in the starting lineup that is maybe not quite focused. We talked about our team and how could we can be once we are all on the same page and together. But, right now we are just getting a few guys off point. Teams will expose you. There is not an easy game on our schedule. We made it that way. We have to understand that Indiana State didn’t play well last night. But they were a totally different team tonight. We know we are going to get everyone’s best shot. We have to deal with that. We have to match energy and be focused to win games."

On A.J Slaughter’s performance down the stretch in the second half:
"You see what type of player he is and that he can step up and make shots and he can make this team go. The hardest thing for us right now offensively is just trusting each other and moving the ball. We have to get that chemistry. We understand ball movement and how important it is for everybody scoring. We are a little too one-on-one oriented right now. A.J. is maybe putting too much pressure on himself at times, and that is my fault. I have to settle him down. But you see he can make plays. He did it on the defensive side as well. He can be a terrific defensive stopper for us. He wasn’t very good last night. He got posted up and was reaching too much. But I thought tonight he had much better focus on the defensive end."

On the upcoming stretch leading into the South Carolina game on December 2:
"The best thing about this game is that it’s over right now. It’s been not a good two days, and we haven’t had a good start. These guys are disappointed just like the coaching staff. Now, it’s a time to get back and reflect with our families. We need to come back and have a great attitude on how to attack our next opponent. That’s the biggest key."

A.J. Slaughter, Senior Guard
On tonight’s slow start:
"I think the biggest part is the energy. We have to get the whole team, including the bench, ready to play and ready to play with high energy, especially on the defensive end. I think the offense will come."

Steffphon Pettigrew, Junior Forward
On what the team can do differently to start games off better:
"It would be energy. If we came out the way we did in the last eight minutes of the game and use that intensity for the whole 40 minutes, then it will show that we are a different team. We just have to start clicking together and playing as a whole."

Indiana State head coach Kevin McKenna
Overall thoughts on the quality of tonight’s win:
"[WKU] is a tournament-tested team, and this is the kind of team you have to beat to be considered at the end of the season. I give our guys a lot of credit."

On WKU’s run at the end of the game:
"We knew they weren’t going away. I told our guys that they were going to make their run and they were going to make some plays down the stretch."

Rashad Reed, Indiana State Senior Guard
On the final play of the game:
"They were cheating over a little bit to Jake [Kelly], and me and Harry [Marshall] made eye contact. I tried to make the shot and the [WKU player] hit my arm, and [the referees] made a good call. I stepped to the line and made a free throw. It was exciting for me to have that chance at the end of the game."

On stepping up to the free throw line with the game on the line:
"I was just thinking about practice. Every day we shoot five free throws in a row before we can get off the court. I was just thinking about that and wanted to do my same routine – three dribbles and a shot."