TULSA, Okla. - Louisiana Tech found itself in another tight Western Athletic Conference battle on Thursday at Tulsa but a 12-3 run in the closing minutes by the Golden Hurricane propelled Tulsa to a 68-61 victory in front a 8,245 at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

The Bulldogs (5-8, 2-4 WAC) had taken a 58-55 lead on a three pointer by Eric Woods with 5:17 remaining in the contest. Tulsa then went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 63-58 advantage with three minutes remaining. Tulsa (11-4, 4-2 WAC) closed the game on a 13-3 run in the last five minutes of the contest.

?If our team plays hard, we can play with anyone in this league and we proved that again tonight,? Tech head coach Keith Richard said. ?Our guards got scared the last five minutes and that is the key to winning and losing. Not one of our guards wanted to take a shot in the closing minutes?

Bruce Edwards tied a career high with 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Tech. Antonio Meeking led Tech with 20 points in the contest. The Bulldogs shot

Tulsa was led by Charlie Davis with 14 points.

Tulsa shot 31 free throws to just 14 for Tech.

?I told them that we need to get in this situation on Saturday and hopefully we can do better,? Richard added. "This is part of learning and we have to work through because there is no other way for us to win."

The Bulldogs were hurt by two 35-second shot clock violations in the final five minutes of the game.

The teams went back in forth in a turnover filled first ten minutes of the second half after Tulsa had taken a one point lead at halftime. The Bulldogs led 37-34 in the opening stages of the second half after a three pointer by
Lavelle Felton but Tulsa came back to take a 45-43 lead with 11:20 remaining. A put back by Darrian Brown tied the score at 45-45 with 11:00 left in the contest.

Both Zach Johnson and Brown fouled out with around ten minutes remaining in the game.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the first half as Tulsa took a 31-30 lead to the locker room at halftime. The difference in the first half was the Golden Hurricane going to the foul line 17 times in the first 20 minutes on their home court as the Bulldogs were whistled for 12 first half fouls.

Tulsa?s largest lead in the opening half was 26-21 with 4:32 to go. Tech shot 35.7% in the first half while Tulsa connected on 38.1% of its shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Louisiana Tech returns to action on Saturday night when the Bulldogs travel to Houston to take on Rice at 7:05 p.m.