It was a tale of two halves for Western Kentucky on Monday.

After scoring just 28 points while committing 10 turnovers in the first half, the Hilltoppers turned things around in the second frame – outscoring FIU 43-26 to record a 71-59 win and sweep the two-game Conference USA series at E.A. Diddle Arena.

"Proud of our guys fighting back and hanging together," WKU coach Rick Stansbury said. "I knew we wouldn't lay down. That's why you play 40 minutes."

WKU – now 17-5 overall and 10-2 in C-USA – shot 52% from the field, scored 42 points in the paint and had three players finish in double figures, as Charles Bassey finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds, Taveion Hollingsworth scored 20 points with seven rebounds and Jordan Rawls tallied 14 points.

"I'm supposed to dominate every game," Bassey said. "That's what I've got to do to help my team."

Radshad Davis led FIU (9-17, 2-15) with 21 points.

The Hilltoppers are back on the court at Diddle Arena at 7 p.m. Friday to begin a two-game series – its final of the regular season – with Old Dominion.

The two sides exchanged baskets over the first few minutes, as WKU held a tight 9-8 lead at the 15:31 mark of the first half. Hollingsworth’s jumper put the Hilltoppers up 15-10, and a score inside by Bassey made it 17-11 at the 11:54 mark.

Davis knocked down a 3-pointer to cut FIU’s deficit to 20-18, and the Panthers remained within a possession with Isaiah Banks’ layup with 6:26 remaining in the half.

Back-to-back 3s from Bernie Andre put FIU in front at 26-24, and another by Banks made it 31-28 Panthers with 2:36 left. Out of a quick timeout, Banks threw down a dunk to send WKU into the break down 33-28.

"We were just sluggish in the first half," Bassey said. "Our defense in the first half was not good enough. The first half, we were just jacking up shots. We just had to get to the paint more."

A dunk by Bassey – followed by a right corner 3 from Rawls – cut the Hilltoppers’ deficit to 36-35 early into the second half, and a fast-break bucket by Dayvion McKnight put WKU up 39-38 at the 17:16 mark.

Hollingsworth took over – putting together a 10-0 run of his own – to give the Tops a 51-43 advantage at the 12:49 mark, and another score by him had WKU up double digits with just over 11 minutes remaining.

"Those kind of guys make you a better coach," Stansbury said. "He made basketball plays. When he gets it going like that, we need him doing that. That's who he is."

Four straight free throws from Bassey made it a 62-45 WKU lead, and the Tops were later up 66-50 with 5:25 to go and cruised from there.

NOTES:

– Josh Anderson missed Monday’s game – a second straight – due to a sprained ankle, while Luke Frampton (undisclosed) was sidelined for a third consecutive game.

– Rick Stansbury started Dayvion McKnight, Taveion Hollingsworth, Jordan Rawls, Carson Williams and Charles Bassey for a second straight game.

– WKU improved to 10-1 in home games this season with the win.

– Charles Bassey has recorded 14 double-doubles this season.

– Tyler Mansfield is the managing editor for InsideHilltopperSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @RivalsMansfield. –