GAME NOTES: Two Conference USA team heading in opposite directions meet up in a conference bout at E.A. Diddle Arena Thursday, as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers play host to the Charlotte 49ers.

Charlotte has dropped three straight contests to Georgetown (81-78), Georgia Tech (67-66) and Old Dominion (61-54), which has dropped the 49ers back to 6-7 on the season with an 0-1 mark in Conference USA. The 49ers are just 2-3 on the road.

Western Kentucky, on the other hand, has won three straight contests over Brescia (89-42), Alice Lloyd (104-62) and Marshall (81-62) to reach 8-5 on the season. None of those three teams have proven to be much of a challenge for WKU, which owns a 6-2 mark at home and is in the midst of a seven-game homestand.

Western Kentucky owns a 13-8 all-time series lead over Charlotte. These two new conference rivals haven't met on the floor since the 1991 season, however.

Old Dominion's seven-point win over Charlotte pushed the Monarchs into the nation's top 25, so the defeat doesn't look so bad now for the 49ers. The Monarchs just barely outshot Charlotte in the contest, but took advantage of a weak first half for the 49ers to run a 29-18 lead into halftime - one from which the 49ers could not come back.Torin Dorn came off the bench to net 13 points to lead the way for Charlotte, while Willie Clayton chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Braxton Ogbueze still maintains a team lead in scoring average (11.9 ppg), but his hold on the spot has been slipping with a string of average outings. Dorn (11.4 ppg) and Pierria Henry (10.7 ppg) make up a trio of Charlotte double- digit scorers this season for a team netting 73.9 ppg on 45 percent shooting (second-best scoring average in Conference USA). The problem this season for Charlotte has been limiting opponent scoring, or lack thereof. The 49ers are giving up 74.3 ppg to challengers, which is the highest total in the conference. Mike Thorne Jr. (7.2 rpg) tops the team on the glass, and Henry's 73 assists are the most for the 49ers this season.

In Western Kentucky's Conference USA opener against Marshall on Sunday, the Hilltoppers ran up against a team seriously struggling to find any consistency. The Thundering Herd were held to 33.3 percent shooting in the loss, while WKU made 47.6 percent of its tries from the floor. T.J. Price netted a team-high 25 points with eight assists and six rebounds in the win, while DJ Clayton added in 15 points off the bench. George Fant tallied a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to help the Hilltoppers win their third contest in a row.

Price returns from a stellar campaign in 2013-14, and is once again at the top of Western Kentucky's scoring chart. The senior guard comes into Thursday's clash netting 17.5 ppg with a team-best 4.0 apg mark, and adding in 5.7 rpg. He's second on the team on the boards, coming in behind Fant's team-leading 7.5 rpg. Fant is second on the squad with 11.3 ppg, and Chris Harrison-Docks adds in 10.8 ppg for WKU, which is netting 73.6 ppg, right behind Charlotte's scoring average. But unlike Charlotte, the Hilltoppers are holding opponents to a reasonable 66.2 ppg on 39.9 percent shooting.

The 49ers have played some pretty stiff competition over the course of the last three games, but the same can't be said of Western Kentucky. However, the Hilltoppers are still the more well-rounded team, and should be able to employ a strong defensive effort that can limit Charlotte's scoring efforts.