Charge the Toppers for reading their own press clippings entering a promising season, but they won’t be found guilty of giving up just because everything hasn’t gone according to plan.

That’s the message senior guard A.J. Slaughter was out to deliver days after Western snapped a five-game losing streak — its longest since the 2003-2004 season.

The Toppers were a near-unanimous preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference, and Head Coach Ken McDonald did nothing to play it down, printing shirts with targets on the back for the Toppers to wear before games.

Slaughter said the team overestimated its talent and sometimes forgot how to play hard.

“We kind of bought into the hype,” Slaughter said. “I think that may have been part of the problem, just losing sight of the task at hand. But we’re getting back to what we need to now to get wins.”

Western’s season started shaky with a handful of non-conference losses, then turned rocky in the middle of January after the Toppers dropped two contests in a week to Middle Tennessee as well as games to Troy, Southern Illinois and North Texas.

McDonald said that throughout that time, it was hard to step away and see what was going wrong. But four days off this past week got the wheels turning again.

“A lot of guys are talking more than ever,” McDonald said. “I think when you’re going through those tough times, you sit around and talk about exactly what’s getting us beat.”

Senior forward Jeremy Evans said the Toppers should raise the volume on the court as well.

Evans said it’s up to the seniors to lead a team that now starts two freshmen and added seven players to this season’s active roster.

“In the past, we haven’t been doing that much speaking and talking to the younger guys,” Evans said. “We are really improving on that.”

Slaughter vowed to take on a more vocal role at the beginning of the season — the same as what Evans talked about.

Western’s stumbles came early enough for a recovery, and with the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on the horizon, Slaughter said the Toppers have learned right from wrong.

“It taught us a lesson and really showed us where we need to be,” Slaughter said. “I’m glad it happened then and not now.”

Western has eight games left to play before heading to Hot Springs for the conference tournament.

And as long they don’t lose in Hot Springs, the Toppers can still dream of another NCAA tournament — this time without being overwhelmed by the hype.