Ever since he wowed the country with a 25-point performance against Gonzaga in the 2009 NCAA tournament, Orlando Mendez-Valdez might have Western fans wondering where former Topper guard went.
For at least a few days, the now-professional Mexican basketball player returned to Bowling Green for the first time as an alumnus — an experience he said [...]

Head Coach Ken McDonald said he constantly tells the Toppers that they shouldn’t settle for a good shot when they could instead take a great shot.
The 2009-2010 season was expected to be one great shot, but instead Western (21-13) fell to Troy 54-48 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament’s semifinals.
The Toppers missed out on invitations [...]

It’s hard to question Western’s athletic success over the last 10 years.
Left unknown is the leading figure behind that success.
Athletics Director Wood Selig has overseen 70 Sun Belt Conference Championships, and Western has experienced tremendous growth in moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision along with more than $100 million in facilities improvements.
But always next [...]

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — The Toppers didn’t partake in any more late theatrics or postgame celebrations Monday night at Summit Arena, because they did something in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament they haven’t done in three seasons.
Lose.
Troy senior forward Richard Delk hit a 3-pointer with 13.2 seconds to play, giving the Trojans (20-11) a two-possession [...]