The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers sealed a first-round bye in next month's Conference USA Tournament with a 38-point drubbing of Charlotte - improving to 13-2 in Conference USA play.
Four-star recruit Josh Anderson lived up to the hype on Thursday night with the best performance of his young college career. The freshman finished the night with a career-high 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting.
Kentucky native Justin Johnson dominated early and often. The senior forward pitched in 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting to go with 5 rebounds in just 26 minutes of play. His 360 dunk in the first half brought the crowd at E.A. Diddle alive and signaled the beginning of the end for any hopes of a Charlotte shocker.
Justin Johnson putting in WORK on both sides of the floor tonight.
— beIN COLLEGE SPORTS (@beINCOLLEGE) February 23, 2018
The forward gets the steal AND the 360 slam for @WKUBasketball. pic.twitter.com/A6RPQ9V7Lq
It was an all-around performance for the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky had 6 players score in double figures - including all five starters. They held Charlotte to just 55 points - the least amount of points allowed to any conference opponent this season - on 36.7% shooting and forced 20 turnovers.
For Western Kentucky, the big test comes Saturday on Senior Night, when the second-place Old Dominion Monarchs bring their league-best defense to Bowling Green. The game is already sold out.
For Charlotte, the loss is their 13th in a row - one shy of the longest losing streak in school history set in 1985.
Other Scores From Across Conference USA
Rice 79, FAU 76
Old Dominion 84, Marshall 79
North Texas 68, FIU 69
Southern Miss 56, UTSA 64
Louisiana Tech 72, UTEP 74
