Boxscore

RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech controlled the opening tip and the rest of the game followed suit as the Bulldogs (3-10; 1-0 WAC) blew out the San Jose Spartans (1-12; 0-1 WAC) in both teams? Western Athletic Conference opener Thursday night in the Thomas Assembly Center by a final score of 92-56.

?I?m really happy for these players,? Tech head coach Keith Richard said. ?This gives success for us to build on as conference starts. This is how I envisioned this team at the beginning of the year. We had five guys in double figures, and we had quick and high scoring. Everybody played will tonight. I saw a lot of energy on the floor.?

Senior Chad McKenzie put the Bulldogs on the board first with a free-throw at the 19:35 mark for a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Drew Washington added to the lead with 19:02 on the clock with a jumper for a 3-0 lead. Junior Keith Smith knocked down his first basket of the night in the paint to go up 5-0, and senior Trey McDowell got his first basket for a 7-0 lead.

San Jose State guard Carlton Spencer halted the Tech run with a jumper with 17:44 on the clock to cut the Bulldog lead to 7-2. After another San Jose bucket, McDowell scored a fast-break lay-up at the 14:54 mark to put Tech ahead 9-4 and followed shortly after with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 12-4 with 13:39 in the first half before San Jose took a time out.

The time out could not stop Tech?s scoring, however, as senior Jerome Richardson knocked down a lay-up with 11:14 on the clock, which was followed by a three-pointer from senior Marcus Elliot at the 11:00 mark to give Tech a commanding 17-4 lead. The Bulldogs put together a total run of 21 unanswered points before the Spartans finally scored with 6:25 left in the half for a 28-6 Bulldog lead and eventually took a 42-21 lead into halftime.

Tech?s offense could not be extinguished in the second half, as the Spartans were outscored 50-35 to give the Bulldogs a 92-56 win.

The Bulldogs were led by Washington and McKenzie with 17 points apiece. McDowell finished 14, and both Elliot and Smith finished the game with 10. Spencer led the Spartans with 23 points.

?This win came at the perfect time,? Richard said. ?They really earned this victory tonight.?

The Bulldogs will remain at home for a Saturday night match-up with the Hawaii Warriors at 7 p.m. in the TAC.