BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Hilltopper Basketball held Florida Atlantic to 29.6 shooting in the second half Thursday and used a 14-5 run to end the game to pull out a 75-63 win at E.A. Diddle Arena.
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The Hilltoppers (17-7, 9-2 Conference USA) trailed by four in the second half and led just 61-58 with 5:02 remaining, but they scored 10 of the next 11 points – capped by a 3-pointer from freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth to make it 71-59 with 1:22 left.
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Hollingsworth, playing his first game in a mask after suffering a broken nose last week at UTSA, scored a team-high 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting.
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Senior forward Dwight Coleby added 15 points and eight rebounds, and senior forward Justin Johnson had 12 points and nine rebounds.
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Florida Atlantic (10-14, 4-8) shot 53.6 percent in the first half and trailed by just one at the break, but the Owls struggled offensively in the second half. Their largest lead came with 15:32 left at 44-40 on a jumper by Ronald Delph.
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Guard Gerdarius Troutman led FAU with 21 points off the bench.
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WKU shot 47.3 percent from the field and netted 19 of 25 free throws, outscoring the Owls 44-16 in the paint. The Hilltoppers had just six turnovers and outscored FAU 19-6 in points off turnovers.
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WKU stays at home to host FIU at 6 p.m. CT Saturday at Diddle Arena.
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