RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech responded from a tough loss on Saturday with a solid effort in a 79-76 victory over Boise State on Thursday night at Thomas Assembly Center.

The Bulldogs (6-9, 3-5 WAC) had four players score in double figures led by Antonio Meeking with 25 points. Meeking scored 19 second half points as the Bulldogs led most of the second half and held off the Broncos late to record the victory in Western Athletic Conference action.

"If there was any team that really deserved a victory tonight, it was our team," Tech head coach Keith Richard said. "I am really happy for the players in our locker room because we have had a lot of games like this in the last three weeks that have not gone our way. We really needed and deserved a victory tonight."

Lavelle Felton, Michael Wilder and Darrian Brown also scored in double figures for Tech.

Tech held off a late Boise State rally after leading 74-68 with 2:56 left in the contest. The Bulldogs missed several late free throws but played solid defense on the Bronco (9-9, 3-5 WAC) last possession as an Aaron Haynes three-pointer at the buzzer missed.

"We go the shot we wanted, probably not as open as we had hoped but we got the three," said Boise State head coach Greg Graham.

Boise State controlled most of the first half and led by a 32-22 score with 5:25 left in the first half. The Bulldogs closed the opening 20 minutes on 14-3 run over the last five minutes of the first half.

"We played better defense down the stretch in the first half to get back in the game," Richard said. "We had good energy tonight even when things were not going well."

The Bulldogs broke a five game losing streak in the contest as Tech dropped four games by seven points or less in the streak.

Tech won for the first time this season when being out-rebounded (48-41).
The Bulldogs held Boise State to 36.8% shooting while posting a 43.5 shooting percentage.

The Bulldogs will be looking for two in a row in WAC play when Tech takes on UTEP on Saturday night at 7 p.m.