BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Western Kentucky University (10-5, 3-1 SBC) got 21 second-half points from senior guard AJ Slaughter as the Hilltoppers avoided Florida Atlantic's (7-10, 3-3 SBC) upset bid 79-72 on Thursday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Hilltoppers' sixth-straight win over the Owls, coupled with Middle Tennessee and Troy both losing at home, moves WKU into sole possession of first atop the Sun Belt East Division standings.
After being held to four points in the opening stanza, Slaughter finished with a game-high 25, his sixth 20-point performance of the season. Steffphon Pettigrew turned in his second 20-point game of the year, adding 21 on 6-of-8 from the field and 9-of-13 at the charity stripe.
WKU jumped out to a quick 8-2 spread in the opening four minutes before the Owls started to knock down shots, finishing 13-of-24 in the opening frame for 54.2 percent. Jameson Tipping's putback with 4:51 left on the clock stretched the advantage to 26-21, but with three Hilltopper starters on the bench in foul trouble, Florida Atlantic reeled off a 13-4 run to take their first lead 34-30 on a pair of Jordan McCoy three throws with 50.1 ticks remaining.
Freshman Caden Dickerson drilled a three from the left wing with 28.2 seconds on the clock to stem the tide and pull the Toppers within a point, 34-33, at the break. Dickerson finished with six points in 16 minutes before fouling out. The two teams combined for 66 free throws and were whistled for 52 fouls.
The opening six minutes of the second half witnessed a tug-of-war between the teams, with Greg Gantt connecting on a three-pointer with 14:17 to play, putting the Owls in front with the eighth lead change of the half. Gantt, who finished with a team-best 23 points on 5-of-6 from long range, scored nine of the Owls' 12 points during that opening segment.
Slaughter, however, countered with a three-point play and then drilled a triple from the left wing on a fastbreak, part of his 14 points in a crucial WKU 16-8 run as the Hilltoppers took their largest lead, 63-56, with 9:19 remaining.
On two occasions, Florida Atlantic cut the deficit to four, but was never able to get within one possession of the Toppers. McCoy had 13 off the bench for the Owls while Raymond Taylor chipped in 11 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds.
Cliff Dixon posted a career-high 11 points for the Toppers to go with eight rebounds in 26 minutes. WKU finished 25-of-49 from the field for 51.0 percent.
With a six-game home winning streak, WKU will now host FIU on Saturday, January 16 at 7:00 PM. The Hilltoppers are 67-5 at Diddle Arena against the Sun Belt Conference this decade while the Panthers are coming off an upset win over Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Thursday night.
TEAM NOTES:
• WKU improved to 7-1 all-time against Florida Atlantic with their sixth-straight win over the Owls
• WKU has won five of its last six and eight of its last 10
• WKU extended its home court winning streak to six games
• WKU improved to 35-2 in its last 37 home games dating back to February 2007
• WKU improved to 67-5 (.931) against Sun Belt competition at Diddle Arena since 2000; the Toppers are now 159-46 all-time (.776) in those games
• WKU improved to 505-132 all-time (.793) at Diddle Arena
• WKU entered the game ranked 48th in the latest RPI ratings; Florida Atlantic is 251st
• WKU improved to 275-115 all-time against the 12 current members of the Sun Belt Conference
• WKU has now made a three-pointer in 686-straight games (dating back to the inaugural season for the shot in 1986-87), ranking sixth all-time
• Tonight WKU played in its 11th-straight of 27 consecutive TV games (WKU is 8-3 in those nine games)
• WKU head coach Ken McDonald tied Matt Kilcullen for the best start to Sun Belt Conference play ever by a WKU head coach at 18-4
• In the Ken McDonald era, WKU is holding opponents at Diddle Arena to just 62.3 ppg (21 games)
• WKU has lost back-to-back games just twice under Ken McDonald
• WKU trailed at the half for the 11th time this season, improving to 7-4 in those contests
• WKU won for the 20th-straight time when leading with 5:00 to play
• WKU won its ninth-straight game on Thursday (now 3-0 this season)
INIDIVIDUAL NOTES:
• Sergio Kerusch (13.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg) missed his seventh-straight game with a foot injury
• Slaughter scored 25 points to give him 1,244 for his career, moving past Forest "Frosty" Able (1953-55) for 23rd on the WKU all-time scoring list; next up is Mike Wells (2001-04) at 1,245
• Slaughter scored 20 or more points for the sixth time this season, and the 16th time in his career
• Slaughter connected on 3-of-7 three-pointers to give him 168 for his career, ranking seventh all-time, now within 10 of Mike Wells (2001-04) for sixth
• Slaughter swiped two steals to give him 140 for his career, moving past Darrin Horn (1992-95) for sixth all-time
• Steffphon Pettigrew scored 21 for his second 20-point game of the season, and sixth of his career
• Pettigrew reached double figures for the 12th time in 15 games this season; he is averaging 17.3 ppg over his last seven games
• Slaughter's 21 points and Pettigrew with 20 represent the first time this season WKU has had two 20-point scorers in the same game
• Cliff Dixon recorded his first double-figure scoring game as a Hilltopper with 11 points and eight rebounds
QUOTES:
Head Coach Ken McDonald
On how the team was able to put away Florida Atlantic in the last few minutes of the game:
"I thought we got a little more aggressive defensively. I thought A.J. [Slaughter] really stepped up defensively and said 'no more.' We stepped up our aggressiveness on the offensive end. Anytime you're more aggressive than the other team you're going to have some good things happen to you."
On the play of Cliff Dixon:
"He played a terrific game. In a game like this, you need guys to step up. As the season goes on, you're constantly looking for people to step up and be consistent. I think this is about his fourth game where you know what you're getting when he hits the floor. He's playing hard, number one. He's playing within himself, number two. And now he's starting to get comfortable and confident. I'm pleased with what he's bringing to the table right now."
Senior Guard A.J. Slaughter
On Florida Atlantic challenging WKU:
"Any team that comes into [E.A.] Diddle Arena to play the Hilltoppers, they are going to give you their best effort. It's no surprise to us that they came in and played as hard as they did. We came down the stretch and made the plays that we needed to and made the defensive stops. I am happy with this win."
On his performance in the second half:
"I just try to make plays coming down the stretch. My team needs me to make plays, whether it's me taking my own shot who creating a shot for someone else."
Junior Forward Steffphon Pettigrew
On the physical nature of tonight's game:
"We knew it was going to be a hard fought game, because everybody comes out and plays their best game against us. Once the referees started blowing their whistles, we just tried to stay calm and keep moving the ball and try to execute on offense. We knew our defense was there. We lost a little bit of intensity, but down the stretch we came through."
On the difficulty trying to get into the flow of the game:
"The environment wasn't like it usually is, but we just try to pump each other up in the huddle and try to go out and execute and do the little things to make our team better."
On the defensive effort tonight:
"We just have to come in tomorrow and watch some film and break down the things that went wrong on defense. We just lost our intensity for a little bit, but when we had to make plays down the stretch, we came up big."
Junior Forward Cliff Dixon
On his performance tonight and his improvement as the season goes on:
"My teammates are going hard against me in practice and it is helping me to get better. I am just going to keep working hard and try to get better so that when my name is called I can step up."
On it taking time to adjust to the Division I level:
"It took a lot [of time]. It was hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I had to adjust to the pace of the game. I'm still learning, and I am going to keep on grinding."
