Senior center Cody Hughes talks to teammates during the Toppers’ practice on Wednesday night. The team’s 13 seniors will play the last two games of their Western careers in the next few weeks.

There’s a lot to learn in the classroom at Western, but when it comes to life, senior center Cody Hughes said he’s planning [...]

Head Coach Ken McDonald set the bar high before the season.
After an imperfect start, he’s keeping it there.
The Toppers edged out Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Monday’s opening round of the National Invitational Tournament season tip-off but fell to Louisiana State 71-60 on Tuesday. Instead of heading to New York for the tournament finals, Western will host a [...]

Western lost more than its first game of the season on Tuesday night.
Louisiana State (3-0) pieced together a 12-0 run to turn a 57-57 shootout into a 71-60 win over Western in the game’s final three minutes, ensuring the Tigers a spot in the NIT Preseason Tip-off’s ‘First Four’ at Madison Square Garden next week.
Senior [...]

A coaching search is underway within the university, but the Toppers didn’t necessarily play like a team in turmoil on Saturday.
Six days after learning Head Coach David Elson would be let go after the season, the Toppers (0-10, 0-6 Sun Belt Conference) went to Monroe and carried a lead into the fourth quarter for the [...]

This season’s exhibition win over Xavier (La.) bore little similarity to 2008’s close call against Bellarmine.
For one, every player on Western’s roster played. They all also scored.
Head Coach Ken McDonald said that in stark contrast to last season, when backups didn’t contribute much, a new issue could arise with more reliable bench play.
“Last year, when [...]

After firing Head Coach David Elson last Sunday, Athletics Director Wood Selig suggested the Toppers might go out and prove him wrong.
For three quarters, they did.
Western entered the fourth quarter up 12-7 over Louisiana-Monroe but came out on the wrong end of a back-and-forth scoring exchange, going on to lose 21-18.
Elson said the players didn’t [...]

Western signed two prospects Friday to National Letters of Intent as part of college basketball’s early signing period.
Stephon Drane of Raleigh, N.C., and Kene Anyigbo from Belaire, Texas, joined Head Coach Ken McDonald’s 2010 class and will enter as freshmen next fall with four years of eligibility. McDonald said this class is just the start [...]

Adjustments? What adjustments?
Troy’s Larry Blakeney said he went into the locker room up 21-20 at the half last Saturday and made some adjustments to key the Trojans’ eventual second-half rout — or so he claims.
Head Coach David Elson said he’s not high on making adjustments in the locker room, and that they’re “overrated.” Elson said [...]

Ken McDonald came into his first season as Western’s head coach insisting that the players compete with a chip on their shoulders.
A year later, after a second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championship and trip to the NCAA tournament, the message has changed.
Now, the Toppers will play with a target on their backs.
“There’s going to be [...]

Head Coach David Elson watches the Toppers practice during preparation for their home opener against South Florida in September. Elson was told on Sunday that he won’t be retained after the season is over. BRENDAN SULLIVAN/HERALD

Head Coach David Elson was fired Sunday night in his seventh year as head coach of the Toppers and [...]