Taking it to the bank is usually a good thing — but not for FIU.

The Panthers lost their sixth consecutive home game Saturday night, falling 61-51 to Western Kentucky in a Sun Belt Conference game at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

FIU, which now hits the road for Thursday’s game against Troy, fell to 5-15 overall, 2-6 in the Sun Belt.

The Panthers are in last place in the Sun Belt’s East Division, tied with South Alabama and Troy.

Isiah Thomas, in his third year as FIU’s coach, is now 23-59 with the Panthers.

“This is a baffling team,” Thomas said. “This team practiced hard. For some reason, we are not playing well at home.”

WKU (7-15, 3-6) lost a home game to FIU, 81-63, on New Year’s Eve.

But FIU closed January with a 1-5 record, its worst month this season.

FIU trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half Saturday but rallied to close the deficit to 54-47 with 2:03 remaining.

The Panthers then forced a shot-clock violation and scored on a drive by DeJuan Wright, who missed the ensuing free throw on what would have been a three-point play. The basket, though, cut WKU’s lead to 54-49 with 1:14 left.

FIU fouled Jamal Crook, who made two free throws, and Wright came up short on a three-point try, virtually ending the Panthers’ comeback hopes.

The Panthers were led by Wright, who had a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

He also made 10 of 12 free-throw attempts and had a game-high 14 rebounds.

The only negatives for Wright were his game-high six turnovers and his 0-for-4 mark on three-pointers.

Wright was the only FIU scorer in double figures. As a team, the Panthers shot 32.1 percent, including 1 of 12 on three-pointers.

They also had 20 turnovers and just five assists.

WKU led 27-21 in the first half, as the Hilltoppers scored 12 points off 10 FIU turnovers.

Neither team shot over 31 percent, so capitalizing off the miscues was key for WKU.

• WKU has one Floridian on its roster, 6-6 forward O’Karo Akamune, a Miami native.

He played at Everglades High in Miramar. He played three minutes Saturday and did not score.

• Another Hilltopper with local ties is first-year assistant coach Jake Morton, a former Miami Hurricanes guard.

Morton was also an assistant for four years on Frank Haith’s staff.

Morton left the Canes after last season when Haith departed for Missouri.

In August, jailed Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro accused Morton of being involved in a major recruiting violation — funneling $10,000 to forward DeQuan Jones to get him to sign with Miami.