Rick Stansbury walked to the postgame podium Sunday and asked if reporters would like him to start with “the good” or “the bad.”

By good, he meant the first half of Western Kentucky’s game against Nicholls. The Hilltoppers went into the break up 62-32, with those 62 points representing WKU’s most in a first half since also scoring 62 against Texas-Pan American in a 105-49 win on Jan. 27, 1993.

By bad, Stansbury meant everything that happened after that first half. WKU ended up with a 100-86 victory Sunday against the Colonels, but not before playing sluggish and sloppy over the final 20 minutes.

The difference in those halves gave Stansbury another teaching point as the Toppers (2-1) head this week to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

“You’re up 30 at halftime,” Stansbury said. “So at that point, that was good.

“The bad is you’ve got to play two halves. We didn’t put two halves together.”

Stansbury’s players agreed with their coach’s assessment.

“The second half, the way we came out, we should’ve come out with more energy like the way we started the game,” guard Taveion Hollingsworth said. “It is kind of hard to keep playing the way you did when you’re up by that much because no one’s really into it as much.

“But it’s a mental thing and we’ve got to keep playing like we were.”

Nicholls (2-2) presented WKU with a challenge because of its frenetic playing style and its high-scoring tendencies. The Colonels came into the game ranked No. 4 across 351 Division I programs in scoring (105 points per game) and No. 2 in 3-pointers made per game (14).

But as prolific as Nicholls’ scoring has been this season, its defense has been just as generous. WKU took advantage of that in the first half to the tune of 62 points on a 24-of-35 (68.6 percent) effort from the floor.

Defensively, the Hilltoppers held the Colonels to a 11-of-35 (31.4 percent) mark on field-goal attempts over the first 20 minutes.

“When you play like we did in the first half, you can play with a lot of teams,” WKU forward Justin Johnson said. “You can play with anybody. We played really well.”

Up 30 points, WKU didn’t come out with the same intensity and focus. The Tops recorded six assists compared to 10 turnovers in the second period, allowed Nicholls to score 15 fast-break points and went just 15-of-30 (50 percent) from the free-throw line.

WKU went to the foul stripe 45 times Sunday, its most free throws in a game since shooting 50 against Alabama A&M on Nov. 15, 2010. But the Hilltoppers only managed to hit 26 of those, a 57.8 percent effort.

“That’s about toughness and focus,” Stansbury said.

Despite WKU’s lackluster second half, the Colonels never closed the margin to within single digits, as the Toppers’ 30-point halftime cushion was too much to overcome. Johnson still wasn’t pleased with that second half.

“You take that second half and it kind of wipes the first half away for us,” the senior forward said. “We knew that in the locker room after the game. We’re not happy with a win like that.”

Hollingsworth played the most productive game of his short college career, scoring 24 points on a 9-of-11 shooting night. The freshman guard also grabbed five rebounds and distributed a team-best six assists.

Hollingsworth’s 24 points were the most by a WKU freshman since Derrick Gordon scored 25 against Arkansas-Little Rock on March 4, 2012.

“He’s really good when he gets downhill, anytime he gets in the paint and attacks that glass,” Johnson said of the Lexington native.

WKU forwards Dwight Coleby and Johnson both finished the night with double-doubles. The graduate senior Coleby posted 17 points and 10 rebounds, while the senior Johnson had 14 points and 11 boards.

Jake Ohmer (14 points), Darius Thompson (13) and Marek Nelson (10) also enjoyed double-digit scoring nights for the Hilltoppers. WKU’s had six double-figure scorers in two of its first three games this season.

Roddy Peters scored a game-high 34 points for Nicholls. Peters, a 6-foot-4 guard who’s also played for both Maryland and South Florida, hit 11 of 25 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws.

Guards Tevon Saddler (19 points) and Jahvaughn Powell (12) joined Peters in double figures.

Up next

WKU will face No. 5 Villanova at 1:30 p.m. CST Wednesday in its opening game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Hilltoppers and Wildcats haven’t met since the 1971 Final Four, where Villanova defeated WKU 92-89 in double overtime.

This year’s Wildcats have started the 2017 season 3-0 with wins over Columbia, the same Nicholls team WKU beat Sunday and Lafayette.

Notes

Stansbury is 17-18 in his second year at Western Kentucky and 310-184 in his coaching career. … The Hilltoppers lead their all-time series against Nicholls 1-0. … Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 17:38 left in the first half, extending WKU’s streak of consecutive games with a made 3 to 941, dating to March 15, 1987. … Johnson (14 points) now has 1,155 points in his WKU career. The Hazard native passed Dwight Smith (1,162) to move into 33rd place all-time on the Toppers’ scoring list. … Announced attendance at E.A. Diddle Arena was 3,378. The Hilltoppers have averaged 4,154 fans through three home games.{&end}