Boxscore

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- In an electric afternoon in SIU Arena, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs were able to perform a rare feat: beat Southern Illinois at home.

Louisiana Tech (17-10; 9-4 WAC) was able to knock off the Southern Illinois Salukis (18-9; 11-5 MVC) 54-51 in front of a crowd of 9,168 Saturday, Feb. 18, in ESPN2?s BracketBuster game.

"I am really happy for our kids," Tech head coach Keith Richard said. "I was so proud of the way they remained tough after getting down seven early. We started toughening up and made a game out of it. It was a tremendous effort by both teams. To come in here and get a win against a very good team like Southern Illinois and on their own court, it says a lot about the heart and toughness of our team."

After a sluggish start offensively, the Bulldogs? defensive really shined throughout the remainder of the game and help the Salukis to under their scoring average.

The Salukis struck first with a lay up from senior forward Randal Falker with 19:16 on the clock and following a Louisiana Tech turnover that opened a 7-0 run over the next three minutes.

Tech finally answered with a lay up plus the foul by senior point guard Daevon Haskins.

Haskins missed the free throw, and junior forward Paul Millsap pulled the rebound down and went to the line. After splitting the free-throws, the Bulldogs cut the lead to 7-3 at the 15:55 mark in the first half.

Southern Illinois answered with a lay up and foul shot by sophomore forward Matt Shaw to give the Salukis a 10-3 lead.

The Salukis extended the lead to 12-3 after Falker scored another basket for the Salukis with 14:06 on the clock.

Millsap answered with a 15-foot jumper to cut the lead to 12-5, and on the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs were able close the gap after a tipped basket from freshman point guard Drew Washington.

The Bulldogs picked up a steal from Southern Illinois and were able to capitalize thanks to a fast break bucket from junior forward Chad McKenzie to put the score at 12-9.

Falker knocked down a pair of free throws for the Salukis to extend the lead to 14-9, but Tech answered at the 10:22 mark with a lay up from junior guard Trey McDowell.

The Salukis got another big bucket from Falker to put the score at 16-11, but a steal and dunk from Millsap silenced the crowd with 8:09 left to play in the first half.

Junior guard Jamaal Tatum reenergized the crowd a minute later with a three-pointer at the top of the key to put the Salukis ahead 19-13.
McKenzie answered at the 5:40 mark for the Bulldogs with a lay up basket to cut the lead, and another lay up from Haskins put Tech down 19-17.

Tatum knocked down his second basket of the night for the Salukis at the 4:20 mark, but a pair of free throws from senior guard Corey Dean kept the score within two points.

Shaw followed for the Salukis with a lay up of his own, but junior guard Jerome Richard was quick to answer with a lay up of his own to cut the lead to 23-21.

The Bulldogs finally tied the ballgame thanks to Haskins knocking down a pair of free throws with 2:17 left to play in the first half and took the lead exactly one minute later after Richardson knocked a pair of free throws.

The Salukis answered with another basket from Tatum to tie the game at 25, but free throws continued to be Tech?s strong point down the stretch in the first half with junior forward Harry Disy hitting a pair of his own.

Southern Illinois was unable to answer prior to the halftime buzzer, and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs took a 27-25 lead into the locker room.

The Salukis opened up the second half with a lay up from freshman guard Bryan Mullins, but Millsap answered on the opposite end of the floor to keep the lead at 29-27.

Southern Illinois tied the game with 17:34 left to play off a lay up from Shaw, and recaptured the lead with a pair of free throws from Shaw again soon after.

Tech answered with another lay up from Millsap at the 15:29 mark, but the Salukis regained the lead with a bucket from Clemmons. Millsap would tip the ball in on the following possession to tie the game at 33 and regain the lead for the Bulldogs with a pair of free throws at 35-33 with 13:33 to play in the game.

The Bulldogs picked up a steal on the ensuing SIU possession and took a four point lead thanks to a follow-up dunk from Richardson. Tech kept the run going after a Saluki foul on Millsap that saw him knock down one-of-two free throws to extend the lead to 38-33.

Southern Illinois cut the lead to two with a three-point basket by junior guard Tony Young, but Millsap answered with a lay up to extend the lead to 40-36.

Sophomore guard Jamaal Foster kept the crowd in the game with a lay up to cut the lead to 40-38, and Falker tied the game for the Salukis at 40 with a lay up of his own with 9:24 left to play.

It was Millsap again for the Bulldogs with a lay up and free throw to extend the lead to 43-40 with 8:44 left to go in the game, but Tatum answered for Southern Illinois with a three-pointer to tie the game at 43.

With the crowd at full speed, Millsap was able to silence them again with yet another lay up for his 21st point of the ballgame with 7:40 on the clock. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 47-43 due to 16-foot jumper from McKenzie on Tech?s following possession.

The Salukis cut the lead again with a two-point basket from Shaw at the 5:15 mark, but Haskins was able to split a pair of free throws to put the Bulldogs up 48-45.

Falker also split a pair of free throws, but it would be the Bulldogs that would score next with a dunk from Millsap thanks to a superb, no-look pass from Haskins.

Tatum would make both free throws for the Salukis with under three minutes left to play to cut the lead to 50-48, and Shaw would cut the lead by one after splitting his free throws.

The Salukis retook the lead at the 1:10 mark with a steal and lay up from Young, but McKenzie would hit both free throws after a foul to put the Bulldogs ahead 52-51 with :50 left in the ballgame.

Millsap again stepped up for the Bulldogs and hit two free throws with 30 seconds left to play to put the Bulldogs up 54-51.

The Bulldogs were led by Millsap with 25 points (17 in the second half) and six rebounds, less than half his game average, while McKenzie added eight points and eight boards.

"(Millsap) really came alive in the second half," Richard said. "He made some tough man plays in the second half. I am so proud of our players. They showed a lot of toughness. This was a tough man's game and they showed it today. This is a game that could have gone either way. Fortunately, it went our way. I wanted to show the viewers (ESPN2) how hard our team plays and they demonstrated that tonight."

Falker led the scoring for the Salukis with 13 points, while Shaw and Tatum added 12 points apiece.

The Bulldogs return to action Feb. 23, in Las Cruces, N. M., at 8:05 p.m. to take on the New Mexico State Aggies in the first of three final conference games for Tech?s 2005-06 season. The game can be heard on KXKZ 107.5 FM or by clicking on the multimedia link at www.latechsports.com. There is also a link for a live feed to watch by clicking ?Live WAC Basketball.?