Cancun Challenge continues at WKU

Western Carolina will meet Western Kentucky on the basketball court for the first time in 27 years in the second game of the 2012 Cancun Challenge at the E.A. Diddle Arena (7,326) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The Catamounts and Hilltoppers have met twice before on the basketball court, with WKU holding a 2-0 advantage in the series.

Stretching back to last season, the Hilltoppers have won six straight at home, but dropped a road game to Southern Mississippi (64-67 in OT) back on November 10.  Last Tuesday, WKU picked up a 20 point win over Austin Peay in their first Cancun Challenge game, which uppws their overall record to 1-1 on the season.

Ray Harper is in his second season as head coach at WKU, having gone 16-19 last season with the Hilltoppers. The Hilltoppers were selected to finish third in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference this season, behind Middle Tennessee and South Alabama. WKU returns four starters from last year’s squad, and returns six of its top seven scorers from 2011-12 team..

Senior Jamal Crook is the leading scorer for WKU, averaging 16.5 points per game, with sophomore George Fant putting up 13 points per game, and  leading the team in rebounding in nine of the last 16 games.   Sophmore guard T.J. Price has hit multiple three-pointers in 11 of the last 15 games.

There is no television for Saturday's game, and live stats, live video and live audio are available on WKUSports.com.