Boxscore After a poor shooting performance in the first half by both Louisiana Tech (6-4) and McNeese State (2-4), the Bulldogs caught fire in the second half to beat McNeese State 80-67 and remain undefeated in the Thomas Assembly Center for the season.
Tech made only 10 of 31 shots in the first half for a .323 percentage from the field, but in the second half, the Bulldogs found the same rhythm they displayed against UL-Lafayette in last Tuesday's win.
Against the Ragin' Cajuns, Tech tied for the second most three-pointers made in school history with 14, and the Bulldogs turned up the heat once again with the Cowboys. Tech blistered for a .684 shooting percentage in the second stanza, draining 13 of 19 field goals including five of seven three-pointers, and the Bulldogs pushed their undefeated home record to 3-0 this season.
Both teams started slow offensively, as the score stood tied at 22-22 with only 3:18 remaining in the first half. Then, the Bulldogs scored on their final three possessions to take a 28-23 halftime lead.
Tech out-rebounded the Cowboys 21-17 in the first half, but the key statistics were the offensive rebounds and second chance points. The Bulldogs grabbed nine offensive boards and scored 13 second chance points to McNeese State's zero such points.
Tech head coach Keith Richard said of the first half, while the offense struggled, the Bulldogs' defense played well and helped Tech gain the halftime lead.
"I wasn't too upset at halftime," Richard said. "We missed shots under the basket and had a lot of open three-pointers, and I reminded our team at the half that
Paul Millsap wasn't touching the ball enough. But I thought our defense played extremely well in the first half, and that's what kept us ahead."
After McNeese State's J.T. Williams cut Tech's lead to 34-30 on a three-pointer in the second stanza, the Bulldogs went on a 10-2 run to open a 12-point lead. Tech pushed its lead all the way to 20 points on a free throw by
Trey McDowell with 4:39 remaining in the game, before Richard decided to rest his starters before the Bulldogs' upcoming battle at Memphis next Tuesday.
Junior forward
Paul Millsap led Tech with 24 points and 13 rebounds for his 50th career double-double, and he also had a season-high four blocks and three steals. Millsap made six of eight shots from the field and 12 of 15 free throws.
His 13 rebounds increased his career total to 858, which bumped him past Anthony Dade and Elliott Lawrence to seventh on the list. He is one rebound behind Bulldog Hall of Famer Karl Malone.
Senior guard
Corey Dean dropped in 12 second-half points and finished with 14 points total, and Richard said Dean had an excellent game off the bench.
"Corey was huge off of the bench tonight," Richard said. "Corey,
Drew Washington and
Trey McDowell all played well in the second half off the bench."
McDowell added nine points off the bench, and Washington scored a career-high six points behind senior point guard
Daevon Haskins, who finished with two points and nine assists. Haskins fell one assist shy of his career-high, as he recorded 10 assists against UL-Lafayette last Tuesday.
The Bulldogs entered the contest shooting only .588 percent from the free throw line, but Tech made 27 of 34 from the charity stripe tonight for .794 percent. The Bulldogs are now 4-0 when shooting more free throws than their opponent and 5-1 when leading at the half.
Williams led the Cowboys offensively with 24 points, and Quentin Gonzales and Jamelle Juneau both had 10 points.
Tech's next contest will be at No. 5 nationally-ranked Memphis. The Tigers are 7-1 on the season with their only loss by three points to the undefeated No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils. Memphis' tops wins have come over Alabama, No. 16 UCLA and Cincinnati.
The game can be heard on the radio at KXKZ, 107.5 FM as
Dave Nitz will bring the broadcast. The pre-game show will begin at 6:30 p.m. with tip-off set for 7 p.m. CST.
