Old Dominion (10-9) handed the Hilltoppers (10-9) their second loss on their four game road trip and fourth conference loss this season as they took down WKU with a final score of 68-62.

Head Coach Ray Harper used his ninth different starting lineup this season on Thursday. This starting lineup only accounted for 13 of the Toppers’ 62 points, good for only 21 percent of the Hilltoppers’ offense.

WKU’s bench provided the offensive spark for the team as three players off the bench scored in double figures against the Monarchs.

Junior guards Chris Harrison-Docks and Fredrick Edmond came off the bench and finished with 16 and 14 points respectively. Sophomore forward Justin Johnson looked back to form off the bench tonight as he scored a team high 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Hilltoppers controlled the game for the first half as they scored eight of the last 12 points in the period and limited Old Dominion to 2-of-6 shooting from the floor down the stretch to take a 29-25 lead at halftime.

However, the Monarchs were able to keep the game tight for most of the night thanks in large part to guard Trey Freeman. Freeman finished with a career night in points coming away with 28 while also notching three assists and four rebounds.

The last time WKU held the lead was at the 7:24 mark in the second half when they had a one point lead at 54-53. After that ODU turned things on and didn’t look back.

The Monarchs scored the next six points and held WKU scoreless for 2:43 to take a 59-54 lead which they held on to for the rest of the game.

One pivotal stat in the game was both teams’ performances form the three-point line. WKU finished the game shooting 4-of-18 from three-point range (.222) as the Monarchs ended at a much more efficient 54.5 percent from distance (6-for-11).

The Hilltoppers will look to get another victory in the win column this Saturday as they head to North Carolina to take on the Charlotte 49ers (4-13) at 6 p.m.