BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Kelvin Lewis sank a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left to give Houston (12-11) a 74-72 win over Western Kentucky University (13-12) in a non-conference clash on Tuesday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. The snakebitten Hilltoppers have dropped four games now by two points or less, and three of their four home losses have come by a combined four points.

After leading 40-33 at the break, WKU opened 1-of-9 from the field in the second half as Houston used a 9-2 run to tie the game up 42-42 with 15:19 to play on a three-point play by Aubrey Coleman. The nation's leading scorer at 25.9 ppg finished with a game-high 29 points on 13-of-27 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals in playing all 40 minutes.

Over the ensuing four minutes, neither team was able to lead by more than a possession, with a Maurice McNeil fastbreak dunk tying the game at 51-51 with 11:38 on the clock. An offensive tip-in by Jeremy Evans of an AJ Slaughter miss put WKU in front 53-51, but Adam Brown came off the Cougar bench to score all seven of his points in a 9-0 Houston run as the Cougars grabbed their biggest lead of the game 60-53 on a Brown jumper.

WKU, however, countered with eight-straight and seesawed back in front with 6:12 to play on a Steffphon Pettigrew bucket. After a dominating first half in which the junior from Elizabethtown, Ky. scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Pettigrew was held to just two final frame points on 1-of-3 from the field.

The two teams continued to trade the lead as Houston took a 72-68 spread on a Coleman basket with 1:23 remaining. But two free throws by Caden Dickerson with 1:02 left and then a steal and lay-up by Slaughter with 22.2 on the clock tied the game at 72-72. After two missed chances by Houston, Sergio Kerusch was called for a foul on Brown with 0.5 remaining, and a technical foul was assessed to the WKU bench. Lewis sank both techincal free throws, and then Brown missed the front end of the one-and-one, however following a timeout, WKU was unable to get a shot off before time expired.

Houston shot 50.0 percent in the second half, and despite being outrebounded 43-35, committed just six turnovers. Lewis finished with 11 points while McNeil added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Slaughter finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists while Kerusch scored a team-high 19 off the bench. Evans added six points and 10 rebounds while Cliff Dixon chipped in six points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes.

Pettigrew opened the game with the first seven points for the Hilltoppers as they built an early 7-4 advantage. After the Cougars opened just one for their first nine field goal attempts, Houston connected on 4-of-6 to take their first lead 16-15 on a Sean Coleman three-pointer. It would be the only three of the half for the Cougars who were 1-of-9 in the first stanza.

An offensive rebound by Pettigrew resulted in a Kerusch dunk as the Toppers led 31-27 with 4:10 on the clock. Aubrey Coleman converted a pair of buckets to pull the Cougars within 32-31, only to see WKU close the final 1:57 of the half on an 8-2 run as the Toppers took their largest lead into the locker room at 40-33.

WKU returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday, February 11 when the Hilltoppers host West Division leading Arkansas State at 7:00 PM at E.A. Diddle Arena.

TEAM NOTES:
• WKU falls to 1-3 all-time against Houston
• Tonight is just the third time in the last nine seasons in which WKU has lost to the same non-conference opponent in consecutive seasons (SIU and Tennessee, both in 2006-07 and 2007-08); WKU had already avenged last year's losses to Evansville, Murray State, and Mississippi State this season
• WKU slips to 47-37 all-time against the 12 current members of Conference USA, including 2-2 against the league under head coach Ken McDonald
• Houston is just the sixth Conference USA team to play at Diddle Arena since the league was founded in 1995; the Tops are an impressive 4-2 in the six previous games with wins over Tulane (12/06/09), UAB (11/28/06), Marshall (12/18/04), and Southern Miss (12/18/02)
• WKU falls to 38-5 in their last 43 homes games dating back to February 2007
• WKU is now 508-135 all-time (.791) at Diddle Arena
• WKU has now made a three-pointer in 696-straight games (dating back to the inaugural season for the shot in 1986-87), ranking sixth all-time
• WKU played in its 21st of 27 consecutive TV games (WKU is 11-10 in those 21 games)
• In the Ken McDonald era, WKU is holding opponents at Diddle Arena to just 64.5 ppg (27 games)
• WKU led at the half for just the ninth time this season, falling to 6-3 in those contests

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
• Jeremy Evans, with six points tonight, now has 976 for his career; Steffphon Pettigrew, with 18 points tonight, now has 954 for his career as both are closing in on 1,000 career points
• Slaughter scored 17 points to give him 1,410 for his career, ranking 13th on the WKU all-time scoring list, closing in on Art Spoelstra (1952-54) at 1,510 for 12th all-time
• Slaughter extended his double-digit scoring streak to 13 games
• Pettigrew just missed notching his fourth 20-point effort in the last seven games
• In scoring 18 points, Pettigrew has reached double figures in 21 of 25 games this season
• Sergio Kerusch led the team in scoring with 19 points, just the fourth game this season in which Slaughter or Pettigrew did not lead the Hilltoppers in scoring
• With his two blocked shots tonight, Evans now has 205 for his career, moving within nine blocks of Chris Marcus (2000-03) for the WKU all-time lead
• Caden Dickerson had his double-digit scoring streak halted at four games
• Houston's Aubrey Coleman entered the game as the nation's leading scorer at 25.9 ppg

QUOTES:
Head Coach Ken McDonald
Overall thoughts on tonight's game:
"It was a hard-fought game. There were scoring runs by each team. In the second half we got down a little bit after having the lead, and we fought back really hard. There were a lot of good hustle plays with offensive rebounds. We had some tough stretches, but we were able to collect ourselves and get back in the game and have a chance to win the game. I'm very proud of the guys for fighting back."

On how the team can learn from this game and return to form in Sun Belt Conference play:
"We have things to learn from this game, but we also have some things to be proud of. The fight there, coming back at the end. We could have put our heads down when we were down six or seven points. We kept fighting, and we kept plugging away. We're getting better. Now we're back to league play, where every game counts. Especially on Thursday, against a good team like Arkansas State."

Senior Guard AJ Slaughter
On how frustrating this loss is:
"We have had a couple of games come down to this same scenario, but at the same time you have to look at how we had many opportunities to win the game. It just wasn't that one play that decided this game. You have to look at it both ways and learn from it."

On the importance of the upcoming game against Arkansas State:
"It's very [important]. They are at the top of the league and it's a good opportunity for us to get a win and get back in this race."

Junior Forward Sergio Kerusch
On the play of Houston's Aubrey Coleman:
"He [Coleman] is an extraordinary talent. We just tried to limit his touches and just keep him to the lowest amount of points possible."

On getting back into the flow of the offense:
"I feel like I still have to get better on defense with my breakdowns and other stuff. But offensively I feel like I am really starting to get back [into the flow of the game]."

Junior Forward Steffphon Pettigrew
On Houston's run to begin the second half:
"We let down a little bit, but we fought back. You have to give credit to Houston. They hit some tough shots. They were well contested, but they have some good players that can shoot. I hate the way it had to end, but we just have to get back and look at film and improve."