PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- A more efficient second half would not be enough for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs (1-2) were downed by the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-3) 67-54 in the H.O. Clemmons Center Tuesday night.

?They played us how I would have played us,? Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. ?They switched on us and made some good shots. But you can?t miss 13 free throws like we did and expect to win. I thought we came out harder in the second half with some energy and put ourselves in a position to win. Pine Bluff just got it done tonight.?

Pine Bluff struck first for a 4-0 lead before junior Drew Washington answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 4-3 on the ensuing possession. The Golden Lions would rattle off four more unanswered before junior Adrian Rogers scored his first points of the night while drawing a foul at the 15:57 mark for an 8-5 score.

UAPB put together a 9-0 run over the next three minutes before freshman Dwayne Lathan hit a jumper at the 12:21 mark in the first half to cut the Lion lead to 17-7. Junior James Loe scored his first two of the night at the free-throw line for a 17-9 score on Tech?s next possession.

After trailing by as much as 22-10, the Bulldogs rallied back to cut the lead to 33-24 at halftime. Sophomore Kyle Gibson would score 10 points with nine boards in the first half for the Bulldogs.

Tech would only come as close as 51-45 with 7:09 remaining in the second half.

Gibson led Tech scorers with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double out of three games in the young season. Loe finished the night with 10 points.

Pine Bluff?s William Byrd finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Lions.

Tech will return to action Saturday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. against Arkansas-Little Rock.

?We?ve got another game coming up,? Rupp said. ?We can?t hang our heads. We?ve got to keep getting better and making ourselves play harder.?