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GAME NOTES: Searching for just their second true road win of the 2009-10 season, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers try their luck at Fant-Ewing Coliseum where they will contend with the UL-Monroe Warhawks in a Sun Belt Conference battle.

The Hilltoppers had hit a rough patch in the schedule in recent weeks and suffered through a five-game slide, that is until the squad logged a 76-56 romp over New Orleans on Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

As for the Warhawks, who are currently just 4-8 against the rest of the Sun Belt member schools, they are fighting through a two-game losing streak at the moment. The squad came up short against in-state and conference rival UL- Lafayette over the weekend in a 72-67 final, which means ULM has now bowed in three of the last four outings overall.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Hilltoppers have won all four previous matchups.

In what was more than likely the last meeting between WKU and New Orleans on the floor of E.A. Diddle, the Toppers put five players in double figures as they defeated the visiting Privateers by a 20-point margin. AJ Slaughter posted 18 points to go along with six assists and four steals, Steffphon Pettigrew also tallied 18 points, Caden Dickerson accounted for 14, Jeremy Evans 12 and a team-best 13 rebounds and Jamal Crook 121 points and four steals in the triumph. Now one of the top scorers in the Sun Belt, Slaughter is putting up 16.9 ppg, even though he has made just 40.7 percent of his field goal attempts. Pettigrew is the other active scorer in double figures with his 15.0 ppg for a team that is generating a decent 68.7 ppg this season, but at the same time giving up 67.9 ppg.

Dynile Forbes tallied 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field for the Warhawks, but even his effort was not enough to get the home team over the hump and avoid the five-point loss to Lafayette over the weekend. Rudy Turner tacked on 12 points and nine rebounds, but his six turnovers without benefit of a single assist stood out like a sore thumb. Tony Hooper came up with just five points and four assists, but more importantly from a career standpoint, he picked up a steal in the decision, the 202nd of his career to tie for the school's all-time record. Forbes, who has scored in double figures in six of the last seven games, is slightly ahead of Hooper (11.4 ppg) in the scoring department overall this season with his 11.7 ppg. Throw Lawrence Gilbert (9.4 ppg) into the mix and the threesome have combined to make 120 of the team's 138 three-point baskets this year.

The Hilltoppers have had little luck on the road this season, but their balanced effort against New Orleans over the weekend tells the story of a team that is not about to give up against a weak ULM squad tonight.