Dec. 22, 2008
Box Score
RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech (6-6) controlled the opening tip and the rest of the game Monday night en route to a 72-67 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs (7-5) in the Thomas Assembly Center.
"That was a great win for us," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said after the game. "I thought our guys did a great job and battled while giving a great, competitive effort. We had our success tonight when we took the ball inside and battled, but overall I was just pleased to get the win."
Tech wasted no time scoring to start the game and put together a 10-2 run over the first three minutes of play. Junior Jamel Guyton would later add to that lead with a long three-pointer that went in off the glass as the shot clock expired with 14:03 remaining in the first half of play.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 14 points in the first stanza before taking a 39-31 lead into the halftime locker room.
The second half, however, got a little too close for comfort for the Bulldogs. TCU slowly climbed back into the ball game, and with 7:17 left to play, the Horned Frogs were within two points trailing just 55-53 before junior Kyle "Iron Man" Gibson scored his 20th point with six minutes left to play to put Tech head 58-53.
"Our kids really battled tonight," Rupp added. "They got a big win for us tonight here at home."
Gibson led the Bulldogs with 23 total points on perfect shooting from the field (7-of-7) and from the three-point line (3-of-3) while grabbing six rebounds. Guyton followed with 15 points, while junior Kenneth Cooper finished with 11 points with six rebounds as well.
The win puts Tech a perfect 4-0 at home this season with three victories in the Thomas Assembly Center and one home win in the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, La. Ronnie Moss led TCU with 20 points on the night.
Tech returns to the court Sunday, Dec. 28, to take on 2008 Final Four participant UCLA in Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. CST and can be heard live on Z107.5 FM with a live audio feed available on the internet at www.z1075fm.com.
