W. Kentucky 78, Ark.-Little Rock 69

Published Feb. 20, 2009 3:43 a.m. ET

foxsports

Orlando Mendez-Valdez scored 20 points, and Sergio Kerusch added 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead Western Kentucky over Arkansas-Little Rock 78-69 Thursday night. Steffphon Pettigrew added 13 points, including a 3-pointer that made it 75-69 with under two minutes remaining. A.J. Slaughter contributed 10 points and seven assists for Western Kentucky (18-8, 12-3 Sun Belt Conference). John Fowler scored 12 points for UALR (19-7, 12-3), which led 46-38 after shooting 70 percent from the field in the first half. Western Kentucky rallied behind its offensive rebounding. The Hilltoppers finished with 21 offensive rebounds - compared to only 16 defensive rebounds by UALR at that end of the court.