Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard was looking for a positive response on the road as his young Bulldogs opened the season at the University of Alabama Friday.

The result must have left Richard both positively frustrated and positively pleased as the Bulldogs fell to Alabama 69-63 before a crowd of 7,499 at Coleman Coliseum.

"I'm very pleased with our effort," Richard said. "We're a young team with three new players started and we put forth an outstanding effort. The frustrating part was in our execution. We made the kinds of mistakes young teams do. But you don't get this kind of chance too many times in your opening game, and it sure would have been nice to go home with the win."

The Bulldogs hit on 44.6 shots from the floor while holding Alabama to 33.3 percent of its shots and also ended up tied in the rebound battle with both teams pulling down 38 boasrds. But Tech turned the ball over 19 times while Alabama turned the ball over only 10 times with the Crimson Tide scoring 26 points off of turnovers.

Tech also struggled at the free throw line, connecting on only 6-of-12 attempts.

"Those are the kinds of things that can cost you games, but those are also the kinds of things you can correct and get better at," Richard said. "We knew we were young and we just have to go back in and work on getting better."

Tech stormed out of the gates by blistering the nets early on and starting the game with a 13-4 run before the Crimson Tide called the game's first timeout. The Bulldogs hit on 44.4 percent of their first-half shots while limiting the Tide to 34.4 percent of their shots before intermission.

But 'Bama didn't panic on its home floor as the Tide rolled back into the contest, tying the contest at 22-22 on a Kennedy Winston trey with 5:44 remaining in the half.

The Crimson Tide maintained the lead the rest of the way, but an eight-point advantage was the most Alabama could muster as the Bulldogs kept things tight throughout the contest.

Donnell Allick led the Bulldogs with 19 points while Corey Dean chipped in with 17. True freshman Paul Millsap barely missed a double-double in his first collegiate game with 10 points and nine rebounds for Tech.

"I think we had a good effort, especially against a good SEC team," Allick said. "This is something we can definitely build on. We just have to get better in our execution."

Tech's defense took a blow late in the game when Millsap fouled out at the 6:42 mark after playing a big role in slowing down the Crimson Tide's play in the paint.

Richard was concerned with his team's defense in the paint coming into the game, and while forward Wayne Powell didn't score for the Bulldogs, he played a big role in an effort that held Alabama to only eight inside points as compared to Tech's 14.

Tech plays its home opener on Tuesday as the Bulldogs play host to Jackson State in a 7 p.m. contest at the Thomas Assembly Center.