Dec. 27, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (6-6) will play one final game before the New Year Sunday, Dec. 28, at 2 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion when they take on No. 13 ranked UCLA (9-2) in the final game before the Western Athletic Conference schedule begins.

It will be the first time the two teams have played in each program's history.

"UCLA is going to be a great challenge for us," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "They are a very, very good team, and they are very well coached. We have to make sure we have a great game plan in place, and all our guys have to know what kind of toughness you have to bring to play with a team of that caliber."

The Bulldogs got a big win over TCU Monday by a final score of 72-67 after taking control of the opening tip and not trailing once the entire night. Junior Kyle Gibson was perfect from the field and led all scorers with 23 points on the night.

UCLA has won five straight games and most recently bested Wyoming 113-62. The Bruins last loss was to then 8th ranked Texas Dec. 4 68-64.

"This is going to be a great game to get us ready for the conference season," Rupp said. "We have to make sure that we are all ready and understand what we need to do to stay in that game."

Gibson will be making a return to his home area of Los Angeles and will play in the prestigious Pauley Pavilion for the first time. He leads Tech scorers at 16.5 points per game. Junior Jamel Guyton is not far behind at 13.8 ppg, while juniors Kenneth Cooper and Magnum Rolle round out double-digit scorers with 12.4 and 10.9 ppg, respectively.

UCLA has played in three consecutive NCAA Final Four's and played in the national title game against Florida in the 2005-06 season, which was the last year the Bulldogs saw postseason play.

Darren Collison leads the Bruins at 15.5 points per game.

The game will be broadcast live on Z107.5 FM locally with a live internet feed at www.z1075fm.com.