Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team wrapped a 2-0 road swing with a 70-59 win over Jacksonville State in Pete Mathews Coliseum on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Alabama.

The Hilltoppers improve to 17-7 overall and 6-4 in Conference USA league play with the second consecutive conference win on the road.

Saturday marked the fifth-ever meeting between WKU and Jax State. WKU had previously defeated the Gamecocks this season at home on Jan. 13. Saturday’s win moves the Tops’ all-time record facing JSU to 5-0 in the series dating back to 1939.

“Obviously we did a much better job in the second half than the first and that was probably the difference in the game,” WKU coach Steve Lutz said on the Hilltopper Radio Network postgame show. “Between that and rebounding … you know, we outrebounded them for the second straight time. I would like to say that’s the biggest difference in the game. For us to be down one point at halftime with 12 turnovers is almost unheard of.”

Don McHenry led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 24 points off 9-for-18 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 mark from the free-throw line. Brandon Newman led in assists with five, while totaling eight points, six rebounds and a steal. Babacar Faye led in rebounding with a total of 11 to go with six points, one assist and a block.

Tyrone Marshall Jr. had a team-best three steals, while Rodney Howard led in blocks with two. Howard finished second in points and rebounds with eight in each category.

The Tops opened the night scoring with a 3-pointer by Allen off an assist by Newman just 26 seconds into play. The first half saw a tightly contested battle between the teams, as WKU and Jax State swapped leads a total of nine times.

The Hilltoppers entered the half trailing the Gamecocks by a point, 29-28.

A 3 by McHenry at the 17:22 mark of the second half would regain the lead for the Tops, 33-31. The teams traded leads just twice more before a pair of made free throws by Faye once again gave WKU a two-point lead. The Hilltoppers maintained the lead for the remainder of the outing.

A 3-pointer by Newman stretched the Hilltopper lead to eight, 58-50, with 5:09 to play in regulation. A pair of made free throws by McHenry would push the Tops’ lead into double digits, 64-53, with 1:53 remaining.

Two made free throws by Enoch Kalambay put a stamp on the Hilltoppers’ 70-59 win over Jax State. The back-to-back conference road wins by WKU marks the first time this season a team in CUSA has won consecutive games on a road swing.

“I thought our guys played hard enough,” Lutz said. “I thought that we were physical and tough and we rebounded. It was good to see us make free throws down the stretch as well. Obviously that’s plagued us here and there, but I’m proud of the guys and their effort. I don’t think anyone else in the league has done this. No one in the league has been on a road swing and won both games. Obviously our trip to west Texas and New Mexico, we put ourselves behind the eight-ball a little bit and we were able to make us some ground here.

“Now you have to be able to turn the page and figure out a way to beat UTEP and New Mexico State, and obviously Saturday night is going to be Senior Night so it’ll be a special night.”

WKU returns home to Diddle Arena next week and will host UTEP on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Tops’ matchup against the Miners is set to be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.