Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard T.J. Price (52) shoots three. The Hilltoppers defeated FIU to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Monday, March 11, 2013, at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Ark. (Photo by Joe Imel/Daily News)

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Western Kentucky has two sophomores on its roster who have won conference tournament Most Outstanding Player – George Fant and T.J. Price.

Price earned his Monday after scoring 72 points and shooting 27 of 57 for the four-game tournament.

“It really doesn’t matter to me, I guess,” Price said. “I really don’t look at individual goals. As long as the team wins, that’s when I’m glad.

“I’ll do anything to make the team win, if I’m scoring points or not. … Whatever is possible to do for the team to help for them to win, that’s what I’m down to do.”

Fant, a Warren Central High School product, was the MOP of Monday’s title game one year after earning the tournament’s award.

The sophomore forward scored 17, pulled down 13 rebounds, was credited with four blocks and was 7 of 14 from the floor.

All those numbers came one night after scoring five points and going 0 for 6 from the field.

“First of all, last night after we got the win (Sunday), I came in and told everybody, ‘Thank you for having my back. Believe in my performance tomorrow. I’m not going to play like that twice,’ “ Fant said. “For me to come out here, it was important for me to establish a low-post game early and I was waiting for them to try and double-team me. I was waiting and they didn’t, so when I saw that, I knew I was going to score at will.

“For me to come in here and do that, I’m really happy. To help my team get a victory and a championship, it’s a great feeling.”

Price scored eight Monday, but that came after nights of 18, 22 and 24, respectively.

While Florida International focused on Price in the 65-63 WKU win, Fant went to work.

“I told you (Sunday) night the big fella (Fant) would not have another game like he had tonight,” WKU coach Ray Harper said. “Expected it. That’s who George is. He was out of character (Sunday) – foul trouble, frustrated.

“We were going to ride him, no question. We felt like, ‘Let’s get him the basketball inside tonight, the big fella will go to work for us,’ and he did.”

Harper turns attention to players

Harper, in his second year as coach with WKU, was asked twice Monday about what back-to-back tournament titles meant to him.

He deflected praise, focusing the discussion more on his players.

“Championships are championships,” Harper said. “They don’t come along very often. We talked about it in the locker room before the game. One of my big things with kids is opportunities. They don’t come along very often in life and when it does come along, are you going to be prepared for it?

“The only way you can be prepared for it is hard work. We had an opportunity tonight. We went out and we seized it and we took advantage of that opportunity.”

Harper is 9-1 as WKU coach in the postseason and 14-2 in games played after Feb. 21 until the end of the season.

His team has also won 7 of 8 heading into the NCAA tournament one year after winning six straight going into the national postseason.

“The one thing they did, was they continued to listen,” he said. “They continued to allow us to coach them, and once we got guys back (from injury), everyone thought, ‘They’re going to be fine.

“It’s not that easy. It takes some practices and timing and you could slowly see it coming back. We got back to being who we are, and that was guarding people and that’s why we’re sitting here today.

“More than anything, the character of those young men is why we’re sitting here.”

NOTES:

•Western Kentucky is 7-1 in its last seven SBC title games.

•WKU is 49-22 all-time in the SBC tournament and 15-2 in games played in Hot Springs.

•WKU senior Jamal Crook is tied with Brett McNeal with 354 career assists, fifth most in WKU history.

•The Hilltoppers won 20 games for the first time since 2009-10.

•Western Kentucky’s eight straight conference tournament wins have come by an average margin of victory of 4.4 points. The Hilltoppers last won eight straight conference tournament games over the 2007-10 seasons.