Jan. 12, 2008

BOISE, Idaho -- Louisiana Tech (3-12; 0-3 WAC) was bested Saturday night in the Taco Bell Arena by the Boise State Broncos (12-4; 3-1 WAC) by a final score of 81-66 on front of 4,709 fans in attendance.

"We've got to become a tougher team," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "The things we're doing I'm pleased with, but we just have to get tougher on the boards and finish plays."

Sophomore Kyle Gibson put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first with a rare four-point play after being fouled shooting a three-pointer to give Tech a 4-0 lead at the 19:10 mark.

The Broncos, however, responded with seven unanswered points before senior Keith Smith hit a jumper in the lane to cut Boise's lead to 7-6 with 17:01 in the first half. It would be as close as the Bulldogs would get for the remainder of the half and trailed 45-31 going into the halftime locker room.

Junior Drew Washington opened the second half with a three-pointer at the 19:33 mark to put the Bulldogs down 45-34. It would spark a 6-0 run that would put Tech down 45-37 with 18:04 left to play. Boise's offense would prove too overpowering, however, and would lead to an 81-66 defeat.

"As hard as we're playing, it took us playing them five-on-five and preventing easy transitions baskets to stay with them," Rupp said. "I thought our guys competed. In the second half we got ourselves back in the game."

Washington led Tech scorers with 20 points on 7-of-12 shootings while going perfect on the night from the free throw line (5-5). Gibson followed with 18 points (7-14) and led the team in rebounds with 17.

"Drew did some good things for us tonight," Rupp said. "He was good on both sides of the ball."

Reggie Larry led the Broncos with 25 points on the night.

Tech will return to action Saturday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. to take on New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M. The game will be broadcast live on KXKZ 107.5 FM and can be heard via the internet at www.z1075fm.com.