Boxscore

EL PASO, Tex. -- Louisiana Tech looks to bounce back from a two-game losing slide Friday as the Bulldogs play an 8:05 p.m. contest at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The game in the Don Haskins Center will be televised live in the Shreveport area by KPXJ UPN-21 starting at 8 p.m.

Tech is tied with Rice for third in the Western Athletic Conference at 13-11 overall and 8-6 in league play while UTEP is second at 27-7 and 11-4.

One of the Miners' WAC losses came in Ruston, La., on Jan. 29 as the Bulldogs rolled to an 80-65 win. Tech trailed 31-29 at the half in that game but stormed out to take control after intermission as senior guard Donell Allick tied his career high of 23 points, all scored in the second period, while sophomore forward Paul Millsap added 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Millsap leads the Bulldogs with 19.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game while Allick is adding 12.1 points and 4.0 boards per contest.

Senior forward Wayne Powell is chipping in with 11.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg for the Bulldogs while senior guard Corey Dean rounds out Tech's double-digit scorers with 10.2 ppg and 3.8 rpg.

Tech's fifth starter, junior point guard Daevon Haskins, ranks second in the WAC in steals (2.0 per game) and assists (5.83 pg).

UTEP is coming off a grueling week-long, three-game road trip in which the Miners defeated San Jose State 70-62, lost to No. 19 Pacific 73-66 and won at Hawaii 71-67.

The Miners are 12-3 at home this season and 29-3 in the Haskins Center over the past two years.

Senior forward Omar Thomas leads the Miners with 19.8 ppg and is adding 6.3 rpg while junior forward John Tofi is UTEP's top rebounder with 6.6 rpg while adding 6.1 ppg.

Senior point guard Filiberto Rivera is adding 13.0 ppg for UTEP and leads the WAC with 6.6 assists per game while junior forward Jason Williams rounds out the Miners' double-figure scorers with 11.9 ppg along with 5.8 rpg.

UTEP and Louisiana Tech are tied 7-7 in a series dating back to the 1951-52 season. The Miners had won four straight over the Bulldogs, including three wins last season after ousting the Bulldogs in quarterfinal play of the WAC championships, before Tech countered with the 80-65 home win this season.

Louisiana Tech has outscored the Miners 961-936 in the tight series for an average win over 68.6 - 66.9.

The Bulldogs only have four WAC games remaining before heading to Reno, Nev., for the conference tournament beginning on Mar. 8 and would like to finish strong to counter the current two-game losing skid after winning seven of their previous eight games.

Tech's game at UTEP will also be broadcast on KXKZ FM-107.5 in Ruston with the pregame show beginning at 7:35 p.m. That broadcast will also be streamed over the internet at www.z1075.com.