BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Taveion Hollingsworth tied his career high with 30 points, and WKU Hilltopper Basketball made 27 of 31 free throws to hand Charlotte its first conference loss with an 80-63 victory at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Hollingsworth sank 13 of 13 free throws himself, setting the tone as the Hilltoppers (12-6, 5-1 Conference USA) dominated the second half of their third straight victory. It was the first time the junior guard has reached 30 points since his freshman season.

Charlotte (10-6, 4-1) came into the game allowing just 61.5 points and 8.7 made free throws per contest.

“It gives me a little more confidence,” Hollingsworth said. “Coach always tells us we have to be aggressive. Everybody on the team, we can’t make every shot. You want to get fouled. You want to shoot free throws.”

Hollingsworth scored the final two baskets of the first half to get WKU within one at 39-38, then put WKU in front with a 3-pointer 31 seconds into the second half.

The Hilltoppers never trailed again.

The knockout blow was a 14-2 run with WKU leading 60-55, as 11 straight Hilltopper points – including two 3s by redshirt senior guard/forward Jared Savage – made it 74-57 with 6:26 left.

Savage scored 20 points and knocked down 10 of 12 free throws. He also blocked four shots for the second straight game and handed out three assists with five rebounds.

Redshirt junior forward Carson Williams finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, reaching the 1,000-point career plateau in the second half.

“That’s a really good feeling," Williams said. "But honestly, I’m not as much focused on that as I am the big win we just got. That’s what I’m most happy about right now.”

WKU shot 52.3 percent for the game, including 57.1 percent in the second half.

Jahmir Young led Charlotte with 14 points.

The Hilltoppers head into a week that will feature two games in four days against league travel partner Marshall.

To start, WKU will go on the road to face the Thundering Herd at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday in Huntington, W.Va. The game will be produced by Stadium and air exclusively on Facebook. Marshall will come back to Diddle Arena on Saturday night.

“We know it’s never easy going on the road in this league,” WKU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “Marshall’s got a really good basketball team, so it’ll be a really difficult challenge for us up there Wednesday.”