Western Kentucky couldn’t seem to make any headway in the rebounding battle Thursday against Charlotte – at least until it mattered most.

The Hilltoppers lost the battle on the boards 49-29, but they outrebounded the 49ers 17-9 over the final 8:24.

“They really hit the glass hard, but toward the end of the game, we made it our job to try and get the late ones,” senior forward George Fant said. “I think we did that.”

Until WKU stepped up its game in the waning minutes, it was getting outclassed on the glass 40-12.

Charlotte finished with 15 offensive rebounds but only nine second-chance points. The 49ers had seven players with at least four rebounds.

“That’s been a focus, trying to limit teams to one shot,” Charlotte interim coach Ryan Odom said. “We did a nice job of that tonight. There were a couple they tipped in and made nice plays, but for the most part, I was very pleased with our rebounding effort.”

Thursday’s effort on the boards was WKU’s worst of the season by far.

The Tops outrebounded some of the top teams on their schedule, including Louisville and Minnesota, but their worst showing before Charlotte was a seven-rebound deficit against Chicago State.

“With rebounding, the message is, ‘Hit guys, block out and go get it,’ ” WKU coach Ray Harper said. “I thought we were a little more alert (in the second half). Our guards got in and cleaned some stuff up late that they didn’t early. You can’t always put it on the bigs. There were a lot of long rebounds, too, and those are the ones guards have to go get.”

— Zach Greenwell