Boxscore Fire and ice.
That was Louisiana Tech's offensive style of play Monday as the Bulldogs stunned Memphis with a 64-55 win before 7,581 at the FedExForum.
The Bulldogs overcame an ice cold first half and 28-16 halftime deficit by heating up after intermission to pull away with the win.
Memphis' swarming defense shut down the Bulldogs in the opening half as Tech could only manage a 12.9 shooting percentage after hitting on 4-of-31 attempted shots. The Tigers also dominated the boards in the first half, outrebounding the 'Dogs 24-17.
But the second half was a different story as the Bulldogs hit on 57.7 percent (15-of-26) of their shots to move to 5-4 on the season.
"It was completely two different halves for us offensively," Tech coach Keith Richard said. "We guarded well in both halves. But at halftime, we had to go in and figure out what we could do to play better offensively in the second half."
That adjustment ended up being just one more pass for the Bulldogs.
"The one adjustment we made to was tell our players they needed to make one more pass before taking the ball to the basket or putting it up," Richard said. "Memphis blocked a lot of our shots and disrupted us in the first half. That extra pass to the outside for the 3-pointer or inside for the layup opened things up for us and made the difference. We got cleaner looks in the second half, and that was because of that extra pass."
Memphis (6-5) ended up with a 33.9 shooting percentage (19-56) after connecting on 48 percent (12-25) of its shots in the first half.
Paul Millsap turned in his 27th career double-double to lead the Bulldogs with 19 points and 15 rebounds despite fouling out with 1:26 remaining while
Donell Allick chipped in with 14 points for Tech.
Eric Woods rounded out Tech's double-figure scorers with a season-high 10 points.
Sean Banks led Memphis with 15 points while Duane Erwin added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
The Bulldogs only committed 10 turnovers while forcing 15 while Memphis did edge the 'Dogs in the battle on the boards, outrebounding Tech 40-39.
Louisiana Tech also made good on 20-of-33 free throws (60.6 percent), which was especially important when Memphis forced the Bulldogs to the line down the stretch.
"We didn't make all of those late free throws, but we made enough," Richard said. "Obviously they were playing the clock and forcing us to make free throws, and everybody chipped in to maintain that nine or ten point lead."
Tech will take a holiday break before opening up Western Athletic Conference with a 7 p.m. game at Tulsa on Jan. 30.
