Western Kentucky’s men’s basketball team secured a 79-65 win over Evansville on the road on Saturday afternoon in Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Four Hilltoppers charted in double-figure scoring, with Babacar Faye leading the way for the Tops in the victory posting a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double.

With the win, WKU has earned wins in five of its last six outings and improves to 5-3 on the year.

WKU saw its first points of the afternoon off a made 3-pointer from Faye to open scoring at the 18:36 mark. Don McHenry connected from range just thirty seconds later to give the Tops an early 6-0 lead. After a made 3 by the Purple Aces, a Faye slam gave WKU an 8-3 lead with 15:55 remaining in the first.

After Evansville narrowed the margin to just one, freshman Julius Thedford connected on his first points of the night off a made layup to give the Tops a three-point lead, 10-7, then hit on a jumper from outside the paint to push the WKU lead back out to five, 12-7, with 13:49 to play in the first half. A two-point layup by McHenry off a fast break gave the Tops a seven-point lead, 14-7, moments later.

The game saw its first tie at the 10:45 mark as Evansville connected on a layup off a fast break to even the count at 15-all. Faye hit a pair at the free-throw line to regain a two-point lead in the Tops’ favor before a made 3-pointer by the Aces gave Evansville its first lead of the game, 18-17.

Braxton Bayless connected on a layup to take back the lead for the Tops, 19-18, with 9:04 to play in the half.

The teams traded leads for the remainder of the first period, with neither team trailing by more than five before the half. Bayless connected on a 3-pointer to cut the Evansville lead to just one with 42 seconds to play before the break, and WKU entered halftime trailing, 33-32.

A made jumper by the Purple Aces opened scoring for the second half and extended the Evansville lead to three before a layup by Faye brought the margin back down to one, 35-34, 90 seconds into the second half. After the Aces connected on a 3 to take a four-point lead, 38-34, a pair of made free throws by Bayless and a layup by Faye evened the count at 38-all.

The Aces hit 1-of-2 at the stripe to go ahead by one, 39-38, with 16:38 left in regulation.

After a lost ball by Evansville and steal by Bayless resulted in a made layup, the Tops reclaimed a lead, 40-39, for the first time since the four-minute mark of the first half. Moments later, McHenry grabbed a defensive rebound and took it cross-court, pulling up from behind the arc and connecting to push the WKU lead out to four, 43-39, with 15:50 to play in the game. McHenry then notched a steal six seconds later and laid it in for two, giving the Tops a six-point lead, 45-39, and swinging momentum in WKU’s favor.

A 3-pointer by Tyrone Marshall Jr. gave WKU a nine-point lead, 50-41, before a two-point layup in the paint by McHenry pushed the Tops’ lead to 11 with 13:27 left to play in regulation. Faye grabbed a defensive board and took it the distance, pulling up from behind the arc and nailing the three to give WKU a 14-point lead, the team’s largest of the game.

WKU maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the game with help from 12-point second-half scoring efforts by both McHenry and Faye. Khristian Lander posted five points, four rebounds and two assists in the second half, while Marshall, Bayless and Thedford all posted six second-half points.

The Hilltoppers maintained a double-digit lead for the final 5:36 of competition and closed out the Purple Aces by a final count of 79-65.

WKU now holds a 41-20 all-time advantage in its series against the Purple Aces with the win. The Hilltoppers are now 15-14 in road games at Evansville.

Faye led WKU in scoring and rebounding with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double off 7-for-12 shooting from the field, a perfect 3-of-3 clip from 3-point range, 2-of-2 made free throws, three blocks and two steals.

McHenry followed with 17 points off 7-for-15 from the field and 2-of-5 from the arc with four assists, three steals, a pair of rebounds and a block.

Thedford finished with 16 points off 4-for-7 shooting and 7-of-9 from the stripe with four rebounds. The freshman has posted double-digit point totals for the Tops in four consecutive games and six of the team’s eight games in total.

Bayless led the team in assists with five while charting 11 points off 3-for-6 from the field, 1-of-2 from the arc and a perfect 4-of-4 mark at the free-throw line.

WKU enters a four-game home stretch beginning next week and will host Tennessee State on Tuesday. Tipoff at E.A. Diddle Arena is slated for 7 p.m. with ESPN+ set to broadcast.