Western Kentucky wasn’t going to let a milestone night for a pair of its players be spoiled with a loss.

Hosting Louisiana Tech on Friday night, the Hilltoppers had to battle from start to finish but did enough down the stretch to hold off the Bulldogs for a hard-fought 66-64 win at E.A. Diddle Arena – and a reward for both Josh Anderson and Taveion Hollingsworth.

While Anderson became the program’s 51st 1,000-point scorer, Hollingsworth accomplished a big milestone of his own – becoming the program’s new leader in all-time minutes played.

As that duo had big nights, it was Charles Bassey who led the way for the Hilltoppers (9-3 overall, 2-1 Conference USA) – finishing with a game-high 24 points, a game-high 17 rebounds and 4 blocks. Alongside Bassey, Anderson scored 12 points and had 7 rebounds, Hollingsworth had 11 points and Carson Williams recorded 10 points and 9 boards.

WKU shot 20-of-56 (36%) from the field, 2-of-17 (12%) from 3-point range and committed 13 turnovers. The Bulldogs – who were led by four in double figures – shot 25-of-61 (41%) from the floor, 5-of-22 (23%) from 3 and also committed 13 turnovers.

The Tops and Tech will meet again Saturday at 6 p.m. at Diddle Arena.

The two sides played a sluggish opening half, as they shot a combined 23-of-64 from the field. Bassey’s 3-pointer evened the scoreboard at 7-7 at the 14:44 mark, and WKU took an 11-7 lead just over three minutes later.

A 6-0 run over a span of 1:11 put the Hilltoppers up 19-10 at the 7:59 mark, but Louisiana Tech regrouped and soon knocked down four straight field goals to get within 23-19 with 3:53 left in the half.

JaColby Pemberton’s jumper cut WKU’s lead to just 27-26, but Williams scored the last points of the frame to send the Tops into the locker room at the break leading 31-28.

WKU opened the second half with a bulk of energy – highlighted by three blocks by Bassey and a layup and dunk from Anderson – to make it 37-30 at the 18:10 mark.

Kalob Ledoux’s 3 – followed by five straight points from Isaiah Crawford – gave Louisiana Tech a 42-41 advantage, and he then recorded another bucket and free throw to put the Hilltoppers down 45-41 at the 12:08 mark.

Luke Frampton capped Tech’s run with his first triple of the night, but Ledoux soon hit another 3 to put the Bulldogs up 52-46 with 9:08 remaining.

A 7-0 WKU run, which included Bassey making a pair of free throws to eclipse the 20-point mark, put the Tops back in front 53-52, and they led 59-56 with 4:15 to go.

Tech didn’t go away, though – using a jumper from Crawford to take a 64-63 lead with just 1:01 on the clock. Hollingsworth answered the Bulldogs’ score with a layup to put WKU in front 65-64, and Bassey blocked a layup attempt on the other end to give the ball back to the Hilltoppers.

The Bulldogs had a chance to win with a 3, but Amorie Archibald's shot at the buzzer didn't fall and WKU held on.