It isn’t how you start; it’s how you finish.

Western Kentucky got off to a great start Thursday night at Florida Atlantic, but ultimately dropped a 69-65 decision to the Owls at RoofClaim.com Arena in Boca Raton.

The Hilltoppers (14-7 overall, 7-2 Conference USA) built a double-digit lead in the opening half and led 33-30 at halftime but were outscored 39-32 in the second to fall short and have their five-game win streak snapped.

Josh Anderson finished with a game-high 20 points for WKU, while Taveion Hollingsworth scored 18 points and Jared Savage registered a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Jailyn Ingram led FAU (15-7, 6-3) with 16 points and was one of five Owls in double figures.

The Hilltoppers return to action Saturday at Florida International. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.

WKU couldn’t have asked for a better start.

Jordan Rawls made a pair of 3-pointers, and a Hollingsworth jumper gave the Hilltoppers an early 8-0 lead. Back-to-back dunks by Anderson made it a 12-0 advantage, but Florida Atlantic finally got on the board and within nine at 14-5 at the 14:16 mark of the first half.

FAU hit three triples – with two of those coming from Cornelius Taylor – to cut its deficit to 17-11, and Ingram knocked one down to trim the Toppers’ lead to just 20-17 at the 10:28 mark.

WKU regrouped and used a Hollingsworth jumper to go up 26-18, but Michael Forrest hit a layup to make it a 6-0 run for the Owls and bring them within 26-24 – just before he made a pair of free throws to give FAU a 28-26 lead with 4:56 remaining in the half.

Forrest scored again with another layup, but WKU held a tight 33-30 lead at the break.

Savage opened the second half with a 3 from the right wing, but Richardson Maitre made a layup to trim the Hilltoppers’ advantage to 42-41 at the 15:55 mark. Taylor’s bucket put FAU up 45-44, and Jaylen Sebree followed up with a 3 to make it a four-point lead for the Owls at the 13:03 mark.

A pair of Anderson free throws put the Toppers up 52-51, but Forrest splashed a 3 to make it a 54-52 lead for FAU with 8:14 remaining. Hollingsworth’s layup helped WKU tie it at 58-58 with 4:32 left – but just before the Owls went up 62-60 with just over three minutes to go.

Down 65-62, Anderson converted an and-one to bring the Toppers within two with 2:02 remaining, and Carson Williams knocked down two free throws to even it at 65-65 with 45 seconds on the clock.

Ingram cleaned up a Taylor miss with a layup to put the Owls up 67-65 with 21 seconds left, and Maitre hit two at the line to seal it for FAU.