CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Lamonte Bearden scored 19 points and Western Kentucky remained undefeated in Conference USA with a 73-63 victory over Charlotte on Saturday night.
Charlotte scored the first four points but the Hilltoppers scored the next nine and led the rest of the way, leading 28-20 at halftime with Bearden scoring 11 points.
The 49ers got as close as five, 44-39, after a Jon Davis dunk with 12:19 left but an 8-0 run built WKU's lead back up to 14 with three minutes left.
Darius Thompson added 13 points and Dwight Coleby and Taveion Hollingsworth 10 each for WKU (13-5, 5-0), which won its sixth straight and is 5-0 in league play for the first time since 2014-15.