March 6, 2008
Box Score
RUSTON, La. - It was a career night for freshman Dwayne Lathan as Louisiana Tech got its biggest win of the season over Western Athletic Conference foe Hawaii, 69-62, at the Thomas Assembly Center on Thursday night.
"We're very happy," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "Our kids haven't had much of a chance to celebrate this year, and I thought that was a great team victory. We had everybody step up and find a way to contribute. I thought Dwayne really led the charge with his energy on the offensive boards. Our defensive energy and our press really took them out of some things."
Lathan, a freshman guard from West Monroe, had 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks on the night - all career highs - and threw down two thunderous dunks in the second half that brought the Ruston crowd of 1,382 to its feet. Sophomore Kyle Gibson had a big night for Louisiana Tech (5-23, 2-13 WAC) of his own, adding 20 points with a perfect 11-for-11 night at the free-throw stripe.
Hawai'i (11-17, 7-8 WAC) was led by Matt Gibson with 22 points, but the senior from Oklahoma City fouled out with just more than a minute to play and was not on the floor down the stretch for the Rainbow Warriors. Bill Amis had 13 points and Riley Luettgerodt added 10 for Hawai'i.
The Warriors led almost the entire first half but never by more than seven as the Bulldogs kept hanging around. It was a quickly played first half with only nine fouls called between the two teams, and Hawai'i took a 25-24 lead to the break.
The second half, however, would be a completely different story. The Warriors were called for 19 fouls in the period; Tech would be whistled for 14. Both teams were in the bonus with more than 11 minutes to play. Tech would take advantage of Hawaii's fouls as it knocked down 30 of 35 free throw attempts in the game, with 24 of those coming in the second half.
Hawaii took a three-point lead on a tip-in by Amis with 11:21 to play. Matt Gibson, however, would pick up two quick fouls and would go to the bench with four, opening the door for the Bulldogs. A 9-1 run, capped by a huge dunk from Lathan, gave the Bulldogs a 46-41 lead at the under-8 timeout of the second half.
"It was nice to see our guys play hard," Rupp said. "We always talk about wanting to finish strong, and we want to finish together with a great team effort. I thought all the guys did a great job in regards to that. The only problem I had was that we had was that at the end of the game we needed to be smarter. We had three timeouts, and we told them if we couldn't get the ball in, we could take on right away. But even though we almost let them back, we did a good job with their press and still attacked the basket."
The `Bows would not go away quietly, though. They kept chipping away at the lead, eventually taking a three-point lead of their own with under five minutes to play. But continued clutch free-throw shooting and rebounding would turn the tide back Tech's way as it took the lead with 2:43 to play.
With the score 60-55 and under 90 seconds to play, Matt Gibson picked up his fifth foul, this one of the offensive variety, and Hawaii was without its leading scorer for the remainder of the game. But for at least a few moments, it seemed like that would not matter. A layup plus a free throw from Luettgerodt and a dunk off a set play under the basket from Amis tied the game at 60-all with less than a minute to play.
A driving, underhand layup from Kyle Gibson drew a foul and found the bottom of the net to give Tech a two-point lead; his free throw would make it 63-60. James Loe would steal the ensuing inbounds pass, and another foul would send Gibson to the line again. He was true on both attempts to give Tech a five-point lead. Drew Washington and Lathan would each connect on a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to give the Bulldogs their final winning margin.
"If we do the things we work on everyday, we have a chance to be effective," Rupp added. "Then if we'll play with that much energy defensively and compete on the boards, we'll make it happen. We're going to celebrate tonight the right way, and get right back to work tomorrow."
The Bulldogs close out the 2007-08 regular season on Saturday as San Jose State visits Ruston for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Thomas Assembly Center. It will be Senior Night for Tech as J.J. Marshall, the lone Bulldog senior, will be honored prior to the game. The broadcast can be heard on Z-107.5 FM or online at www.z1075fm.com. Live video streaming can also be found at www.latechtv.com.
