Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Johnson sparks Western Kentucky past BC 79-62 in NIT opener (Mar 13, 2018)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Johnson sparks Western Kentucky past BC 79-62 in NIT opener (Mar 13, 2018)

Published Mar. 13, 2018 10:22 p.m. ET

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) Justin Johnson had his fifth-straight double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Western Kentucky to a 79-62 win over Boston College on Tuesday night in a first-round game of the NIT.

Taveion Hollingsworth added 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Hilltoppers (25-10), a four-seed. Darius Thompson had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Boston College (19-16), a five seed, had an early 9-0 and used that to lead 24-19 after the first quarter. An early 7-0 burst, followed by a 9-0 run helped the Hilltoppers open a 41-33 halftime lead.

Johnson had back-to-back dunks and Thompson added another to give WKU a 50-37 lead midway through the third quarter. The Eagles followed with consecutive baskets but Thompson matched that and Western Kentucky led the rest of the way.

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Ky Bowman had 18 points and Jerome Robinson 17 for the Eagles, who shot 38.5 percent compared to 55 percent for WKU.

The only other meeting was a WKU win in Dec. 1982. BC coach Jim Christian was an assistant coach at WKU from 1990-92 under Ralph Willard.

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