BoxscoreRUSTON, La. -- It never seemed like a close game, but the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-9; 8-3 WAC) were able to halt the Boise State Broncos? (12-10; 5-6 WAC) wining streak to three games Wednesday night by a final score of 81-71 in the Thomas Assembly Center in front of a crowd of 2,698.
?I challenged this team before the game to answer the bell again,? head coach Keith Richard said. ?We?ve been kicked down and counted out over the past weekend, but we did answer the bell tonight. A less tough team would have lost that game.?
The Bulldogs struck first with a lay up from junior guard Marcus Elliot at the 18:55 point and kept the lead until Boise State?s Tez Banks scored with 15:05 in the first half to give the Broncos an 8-7 lead.
The Broncos were able to extend the lead for the next four minutes until Elliot finished a thundering alley-oop from freshman point guard
Drew Washington that helped spark a 23-4 run for the Bulldogs that would end up as a 33-17 lead with 4:20 in the first half.
Boise State tried to chip away at the lead for the remainder of the half, but the Bulldogs took a 37-28 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 41-28 with 18:14 left to play thanks to a dunk from junior forward
Paul Millsap. Millsap finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds giving the two-time NCAA rebounding champion his 61st career double-double.
Richard said even with Millsap not having his best game, other players were able to step up and help the team win.
?Other players like Haskins, Dean, McKenzie and Wilds carried this team tonight,? Richard said. ?It?s another good sign for our team.?
Boise would answer with a 17-6 run that was capped off by a jumper from junior guard Coby Karl at the 13:30 mark.
Tech would hold on, however, and not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game and snapped a two game losing skid to win their eighth conference game this year.
The Bulldogs shot 30-of-68 for the game, but for the third game in a row, shot a low percentage from the three-point line (2-of-15 for 13.3 percent).
?We got shot happy again, and this team needs to realize that we?re not Gonzaga,? Richard said. ?We don?t need to shoot the lights out to win. We did an excellent job in the second half by playing inside out our way.?
Four Bulldogs besides Millsap finished in double figures with senior guard
Corey Dean leading the way with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. Senior point guard
Daevon Haskins added 12 points, six assists and five steals, while junior guard
Trey McDowell and junior forward
Chad McKenzie rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points each.
Coach Richard said he was pleased with the way his team played even with the game close with five minutes left to go.
?This was another game that went to the wire,? Richard said. ?Everybody wants us to be 8-1 in league play, but this was another close game that we could have just as easily lost.?
The Bulldogs return to the road for ESPN?s Big Monday game against Nevada in Reno, Nev., with tip off set for 11 p.m.
?This team has been in first place since Jan. 5 whether in sole possession or sharing the top spot,? Richard said. ?For five weeks, we?ve been at the top of the league, and I?m proud of them. We still have five (conference) games to go.?
