Boxscore

RUSTON, La. ? Four Bulldogs scored in double figures as Louisiana Tech gave first-year head coach Kerry Rupp his initial career win, 64-56 over Louisiana-Lafayette in front of 1,827 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center on Friday night. Tech improves to 1-1 on the year, while the Cajuns dropped to 1-1.

Keith Smith led Tech with 14 points, while J.C. Clark and Orren Tims added 12 points and seven rebounds apiece. James Loe poured in 10 off the bench in 23 minutes of action.

?This was a very good team we played tonight,? Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. ?We knew we were going to have to play hard. We had some guys step up and did a great job. Overall, I was proud of how we held on to win. We fought, scratched and played well when they were coming at us.?

The Ragin? Cajuns jumped out to a five-point lead midway through the first half, but Tech would rally to take a 30-28 lead to the break. ULL would tie the game at 36-36 early in the second half, but Tech would never trail again as the Cajuns shot only 25 percent in the second period.

The Bulldogs held an 11-point lead with just under eight minutes to play in the game at 52-41. But the Ragin? Cajuns went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to cut the Tech edge to 2. Loe, however, would make four of six crucial free throws down the stretch and Smith would toss in four points in the final minute to preserve the Tech victory.

UL-Lafayette was led by Elijah Millsap ? the brother of former Tech star Paul Millsap ? who had his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. David Dees also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, and La?Ryan Gary added 11 points of his own.

The Bulldogs will next be in action Nov. 20 as they travel to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Game time is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on KXKZ 107.5 FM.