Jan. 19, 2008
Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- An impressive second half performance by sophomore Kyle Gibson would not prove enough Saturday night as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-13; 0-4 WAC) lost to the New Mexico State Aggies (10-10; 4-1 WAC) by a final score of 63-54 in the Pan American Center.
"We came out tonight and put ourselves in a position to win," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "Our team was energized and gave great enthusiasm tonight. I'm very proud of the effort shown and by how hard we competed."
With 6:45 left to go in the game after New Mexico State built a double-digit lead over the second half, Gibson knocked down back-to-back threes to put the Bulldogs down 52-43. Gibson followed with a fast-break dunk for his eighth consecutive point to cut the lead to 52-45 and then his eleventh consecutive to put the Dawgs down 53-48 with 5:14 remaining on another three-pointer. Another three from Gibson on the following possession with 4:37 on the clock put Tech down 55-51.
After two Aggie points, Gibson answered the bell again with another three to cut the lead down to 57-54 with 2:51 left in the game. Even with Gibson's 20-point second half performance, the Aggies still held on for the win.
"Kyle played outstanding tonight," Rupp said. "He was able to find great shots and make some good things happen for us in the second half."
Junior Adrian Rogers put the Bulldogs on the board first with 17:52 in the opening stanza with an eight-foot jumper for a 2-0 lead. After a pair of free throws from NMSU, freshman Dwayne Lathan got his first two points of the game for a 4-2 lead with around 16 minutes on the clock. The basket sparked an 11-4 run that gave Tech 13-6 lead at the 13:02 mark.
The Aggies, however, answered with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes for a 14-13 lead. New Mexico State would take a 30-24 lead into the halftime locker room.
Lathan scored his eleventh point to open the second-half with a pair of free throws to put the Bulldogs down by four 30-26.
Gibson led Tech scorers with 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Lathan ended the night with 13 points, while Rogers finished the night with six points and eight rebounds.
Martin Iti led New Mexico State with 12 points.
Tech will return home for the first time in three weeks to take on the Utah State Aggies in the Thomas Assembly Center at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 97.7 FM and via the internet at www.espn977.com.
