Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score

RUSTON -- Nevada freshman Luke Babbitt's three-pointer with time expiring propelled the Wolf Pack over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 67-64 in the Thomas Assembly Center Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (7-10; 1-3 WAC) were ahead for a majority of the game before Nevada (9-7; 2-1 WAC) took over in the second half and pulled ahead by as many as seven points in the final minutes before Tech junior Magnum Rolle tied the game at 64 apiece with a three-point play with 16 seconds left.

"It was a tough loss for us," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "We can't make mistakes. We need to be solid in everything we do on defense. On the offensive side of the ball, we need to have better execution and we can't take bad shots."

Tech took a 35-24 lead into the halftime locker room before the Wolf Pack would outscore the Bulldogs 43 to 29 in the second half.

"We can't drop our heads at this point," Rupp said. "There is a lot of basketball left to play. We have to stay focused and stay together. As long as we stay together, keep our focus and come ready to practice, we will give ourselves a great opportunity to win."

Tech junior Kyle Gibson led all scorers on the afternoon with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting while going 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Babbitt's 17 points led the Wolf Pack.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, Jan. 17, at 2 p.m. for an afternoon game with conference-foe Idaho. The game will be broadcast live on KXKZ 107.5 FM with a live audio feed at www.z1075fm.com.

A video feed can also be purchased for $4.99 by logging onto www.latechtv.com and clicking on the athletics link on the top right portion of the page. Fans can order the game starting one hour prior to tip off.