Dec. 13, 2008
Box Score
BOSSIER CITY, La. -- Make it three in a row for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
And it was a "home" game in the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La., that led to a 77-71 Bulldogs (5-4) victory over the Centenary Gents (2-9).
"It was a hard fought game, and they are very good," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "They really run their offense and get everyone above the foul line. They cut, really stretched us out, and their guards played us very well. We knew it was going to be a fight. We just had to play hard and make some stops and contest and challenge their shots. They had some good looks and got to the free throw line, but we were competitive on the boards.
The Bulldogs met up with a scrappy Centenary Gent team and trailed by as many as nine points in the first half of play being down 20-11 with 7:08 on the clock before putting together a 20-6 run over the remainder of the first half to take a 31-26 into the halftime locker room.
Tech stormed out in the second half of play and took a nine point lead at 49-40 with 12 minutes to play. Centenary, however, continually crept back into the ballgame and eventually took a 59-58 lead with 4:04 remaining in the game.
The Bulldogs would prove too much for the remainder of the game and finished with the 77-71 win. It snapped a three-game losing streak over the Gents dating back to the 2000-01 season. It was the 150th time the two teams have played.
"We did a great job of spreading the floor at the end of the game," Rupp said. "We isolated well, took the ball to the basket and did a good job of getting to the free throw line."
Junior Jamel Guyton scored 22 points to lead the team in his first game back after sitting out a game to nurse an injury. Junior Kyle Gibson added 20 points and proved his Iron Man status yet again after playing for 39 of 40 minutes. Gibson is averaging 36 minutes a game this season for the Bulldogs.
"Jamel was a warrior for us tonight," Rupp said. "I like how hard our team played and the effort they gave. We fought hard tonight and it was great to see them play that way."
Junior David Jackson added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while junior Kenneth Cooper added a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.
"David Jackson did a great job for us," Rupp added. "Kenny battled his tail off, played solid for us and gave us a competitive effort."
Senior Nick Stallings for Centenary led all scorers with 25 points on the night.
The Bulldogs will travel to Lake Charles, La., to face McNeese State Monday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KPCH 99.3 FM with a live stream over the internet at www.thepeach993.com.
