By Andy Walter

NEWARK — In some ways, Delaware is trying to perform a basketball miracle every time it takes the court.

Teams that use only six or seven players game-in and game-out aren’t supposed to win.

Not consistently anyway

And that task proved too much for the Blue Hens on Wednesday night when Delaware lost two players — one to injury and one to fouls — before dropping a heart-breaking 88-87 overtime Conference USA decision to the Hilltoppers at the Carpenter Center.

WKU won when the officials called a reach-in foul on Delaware with just 0.9 seconds left in overtime and the Hens leading by one.

The home crowd booed the call after replays seemed to show that there wasn’t a foul on the game-deciding play. The foul was called after WKU’s Ryan Myers picked up a loose ball and tried to get off a shot.

The Toppers had inbounded the ball with just 4.5 second remaining.

Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said he’d have to look at replays to see exactly what happened.

“Yeah, it’s a tough way to end the game,” said Ingelsby. “We’ve had two like that this year where I’m probably going to get a text from Mike Eades (CUSA’s coordinator of men’s basketball officiating) after the game and apologizing for what happened.

“But that’s kind of a back-breaker for us right there. We guarded the possession well. ... It’s a tough way to lose.”

The Hens (5-10 CUSA, 9-17 overall), who saw their three-game winning streak end, trailed only twice all night — and only by one point each time. They were up by as many as 16 in the first half and were still up by 10 midway through the second half.

One of the biggest reasons Delaware played so well was because junior forward Tyler Houser was having one of his best games of the season. The big man finished with a game-high 24 points after sinking 4-of-7 three-pointers.

But, with 4:04 left in regulation, Houser went down under the basket in obvious pain, holding his left knee. He was helped immediately to the locker room and briefly appeared on crutches.

“We’re not sure of the severity of it yet,” said Ingelsby. “We’ll get it evaluated either tonight or tomorrow.”

Even with Houser, the Hens are down to just seven healthy scholarship players.

When Macon Emory fouled out with :39.5 left in overtime, Delaware was down to just five players — including a pair of true freshmen.

To make the loss even tougher, WKU (8-7 CUSA, 15-11 overall) tied the contest with just 1.6 seconds remaining when Myers (22 points) sank three free throws. Along with going 5-for-5 from the foul line and 5-for-9 from three-point range.

Delaware was leading 79-76 when the Toppers got the ball upcourt to Myers.

“We were trying to foul over half court,” Ingelsby explained. “I’m not sure there was much there. That’s two plays in game situations that went against us that are really hard to swallow.”

Bliss (24 points), Justyn Fernandez (17) and Macon Emory (15) all scored in double figures. Bliss and Fernandez played all 45 minutes of the game.

“At the end of the day, two teams were battling,” said Bliss. “You can’t always control the outcome. There were a lot of things we could have done better, then we wouldn’t have been in a position to go to overtime.”

The Hens came out looking like a team that had won three in a row. Behind 10 quick points from Houser, Delaware led by as many as 16 points at 41-25.

The Toppers got that lead down to 41-29 by halftime.

Maybe the best thing Delaware did was keep the Toppers off the offensive glass. Taller and deeper WKU managed only two offensive rebounds in the first half.

“Hopefully it’s a learning experience,” said Bliss. I’m confident in this group and I believe we’ll bounce back Saturday.”

FREE THROWS

The Hens now have only nine players suiting up. That includes a pair of walk-ons. ... Former Delaware coach Mike Brey was on hand for the game. ... Delaware is back on the road for its next two games, starting with a contest at Middle Tennessee State on Saturday.