Boxscore

Louisiana Tech took control in the first half as the Bulldogs stormed to a 97-67 win over VASDA Monday night in exhibition play at the Thomas Assembly Center.

The win put Tech at 2-0 in preseason play. The Bulldogs open the season on Nov. 19 against Louisiana-Lafayette in the LSU Louisiana Classic in Baton Rouge, La.

Tech hit on 57.5 percent of its first-half shots as the 'Dogs raced out to a 53-25 advantage at intermission with a defensive showing that held VASDA to a 32.1 shooting percentage (9-28) in the first half and 36.9 percent (24-65) for the game.

"A game like that, with such a big margin at the half, made keeping the team 'right' in the second half hard to do," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "We played a great first half. We had some points of emphasis to concentrate on after our first exhibition game, and we did a good job of that in the first half.

"The second half was just average, but I'll credit that to the big lead and the fact it was an exhibition game."

Tech's forward tandem of Paul Millsap and Wayne Powell led the way as Powell turned in a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds along with two blocked shots while Millsap hit on 10-of-11 shots from the floor to finish with 20 points while adding seven rebounds.

"I thought our offense looked pretty good," Powell said. "We wanted to run motion and work the clock, and I think we did. Defensively we just wanted to stay in front of the ball and stay focused on the kinds of things we'll need to do against Louisiana-Lafayette in the opener."

Senior guard Corey Dean added a 19-point, five-rebound performance for the Bulldogs while new point guard Daevon Haskins seemed to become more and more comfortable with his role, dishing off 10 assists.

"Daevon Haskins makes things happen on offense," Powell said. "He gets in the lane and creates. Now we have three 'creators' with Daevon, Corey Dean and Donell Allick."

Richard said Haskins has already made a difference and could become an even bigger impact for the Bulldogs as the season progresses.

"I told Daevon in practice this week that he's a good point guard, but he's not great yet," Richard said. "The difference isn't in making great passes but whether or not he can control a game with his decisions. I think he's listening and it'll be interesting to see if he can go from a fast, talented athlete who can pass to also being like a coach out there."

The Bulldogs also received some solid play off their bench, with Jeremy Johnston and Eric Woods adding nine points each.

"We're not where we want to be guarding the ball, but we're getting better," Richard said. "We still have some things to work on."

Mike Gale topped VASDA with 19 points while Shawn Davis added 12 points and 12 rebounds.