The Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers made school history Thursday night by playing for the first time since 1993 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Although the Toppers fell short of a victory over the UCLA Bruins, 88-78, they showed they can compete with any team in the nation.

UCLA led 41-20 at halftime, but Western wouldn’t go away. The Hilltoppers began pressing and this affected the Bruins’ play. They had 12 turnovers in the first 15 minutes of the second half and finished with 19, a season high.

But in the end it wasn’t enough to clinch the big win.

Western’s coaches, team, fans and others still have a lot to be proud of. The Hilltoppers made it to the Sweet 16 - quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

The coaches and players at Western deserve a huge pat on the back for playing their hearts out all season. They played some high-caliber teams throughout the year and were certainly deserving to play in the tournament.

One can’t help but think what Western will be capable of in the years ahead. This is something that we and countless others will be anxiously awaiting.

And all this exposure can only be of benefit to Western.

Bob Edwards, assistant vice president of university relations, said the tournament gives tremendous visibility for the university.

“Millions of people watched this and the type of exposure you get from this is priceless,” Edwards said. “In this case, (coach Darrin) Horn and the players personified WKU. They did an admirable job of representing Western, great ambassadors for our university.”

Edwards is right on target.

The team and its coaches represented the university well and although they didn’t beat the Bruins, they proved themselves winners.