RUSTON, La. Louisiana Tech took control with a strong first half as the Bulldogs defeated

Texas-El Paso 73-57 Saturday before a crowd of 2,012 at the Thomas Assembly Center.

The Bulldogs hit on 51.7 percent of their first-half shots (15-of-29) as Tech took its biggest Western Athletic Conference win of the season. The Bulldogs stand at 7-9 overall and 4-5 midway through the WAC campaign.

UTEP fell to 4-14 and 2-7 with the loss.

While Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard was pleased with his team's offensive performance, he was especially proud of Tech's defensive effort which held the Miners to a 40.7 shooting percentage on the night (22-of-54) and 32.3 percent (10-of-31) in the first half.

"We made some strides offensively but the biggest thing that stands out when I look at our team in general is that we played great defense in the first half," Richard said. "Not as good in the second half, but our offense has come on from where we were earlier in the season and didn't let up in the second half."

Senior forward Antonio Meeking led the Bulldogs with 21 points and eight rebounds while Lavelle Felton added 18 points along with four boards and five assists.

Texas-El Paso kept things tight for the first five minutes of the opening half before the Bulldogs made their move, going on an 8-0 run after UTEP's Omar Duran nailed a 3-pointer

8:41 left before intermission as Tech marched on to a 39-25 halftime advantage.

The Miners would pull to as close as eight-points back at 51-43 with 10:44 remaining but couldn't tighten things up any more as Tech would regain as much as an 18-point lead late in the contest.

"While it might not show in points, we got some great play out of our guards tonight," Richard said. "OUr guards were a lot more aggressive. Lavelle Felton has gone to the free throw line 14 times over the past two games. That's a big stat. Bruce Edwards has also put in three or four solid showings in a row and he turned in good stats tonight."

Felton went 4-for-4 at the line against UTEP while Edwards chipped in with five points, four assists, one rebound, one steal and one block.

Sophomore guard Corey Dean of Ruston High School pulled down a career-high seven rebounds against the Miners while chipping in with three points and two assists.

"I thought our bench would be a big key tonight and it was," Richard said. "We had some good things going on out there."

UTEP coach Billy Gillispie said that Meeking and Tech's inside game proved to be big in a game in which the Bulldogs outrebounded the Miners 36-29.

"Tech's post play was dominating," Gillispie said. "They are heavy and strong and they did a really good job on the offensive glass. We knew that going in and we thought we were going to have to do a better job of guarding them, and we didn't do it."

The win was Tech's second straight in the midst of a five-game home stretch and Felton said the Bulldogs are feeling better heading into next Thursday's showdown against Hawaii.

"This was a big win for us," Felton said. "It helps give us more confidence and momentum heading into the Hawaii game."

Louisiana Tech will try to avenge an earlier 57-53 loss at Hawaii as the Bulldogs play host to the Rainbow Warriors at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Thomas Assembly Center.