After Murray State spoiled his return to the active roster on Saturday with a 89-61 loss, senior guard A.J. Slaughter said he knew exactly what the problem was.

“It was mostly on defense,” Slaughter said after the game. “The offensive end is going to struggle sometimes. But good teams can still get stops on defense and stop the other team from scoring. We didn’t do that tonight, they got out to a big lead and we couldn’t come back.”

The match-up against the Racers saw several defensive breakdowns by Slaughter and the rest of Western.

The Toppers allowed 17 fast break points and 48 points in the paint while getting out-rebounded 39-27. Murray State made 56.4 percent of its field goals.

“We did not defend their sets well enough,” coach Ken McDonald said. “I bet you there were 15 lay-ups we gave up in the game and a lot of uncontested shots. Most of our guys were in foul trouble because they were getting driven and getting posted all night.”

Slaughter was one of only two Toppers who didn’t turn the ball over in the game. Western committed 14 turnovers that led to 18 points.

Fouls were also a problem in the game. Three Toppers had four or more fouls in the game.

“There were a lot of things on defense,” senior guard Orlando Mendez-Valdez said. “I put my team in a bad position early getting in foul trouble with dumb fouls. That’s the second game in a row I’ve done that.”

After three games, Western has allowed 70 points a game, almost eight points more than the Toppers’ average scoring.

The road doesn’t get easier for the Toppers. Their next three games are match-ups against Southern Illinois, Louisville and Georgia.

“Talk is cheap,” McDonald said. “And until we do it and win a road game, we’re all talk. We have to get to the point where we understand, collectively, that everybody on the team is going to have to play a part.”

The Toppers will look to get back on the winning track tomorrow night against Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. in Diddle Arena.