Jan. 3, 2009

Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It took all 40 minutes of play Saturday, but the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-7; 1-0 WAC) took a big 66-61 win over conference foe San Jose State (6-5; 0-1 WAC)) to pick up the opening WAC win in the 2008-09 season.

"We knew this was going to be a tough fight," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "San Jose State is a very tough team. They play very well, and it looked like it was going to be a great challenge for us. We told the guys to stay focused. We knew it was going to be hard fought the whole."

San Jose State jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead early before junior Jamel Guyton drained his first three-pointer of the night and sparked a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to take an 11-8 lead.

After leading by as many as nine in the first half, the Bulldogs would take a 33-27 lead into the halftime locker room thanks in part to shooting 48 percent in the first stanza of play. Junior Kenneth Cooper finished the first half with 12 points, while Guyton was a perfect 3-of-3 from the three point line.

The Spartans would tie the game in the second half 41-41 with 13 minutes left to play and would reclaim the lead shortly after 44-42 with a three-point play from SJSU's C.J. Webster. Cooper added to his point total with 12:17 to tie the game 44-44 from the free throw line. After San Jose ran off six unanswered points, junior Kyle Gibson knocked a three-pointer down to cut the led to 50-47 with 10 minutes left to play.

Another three-pointer from Gibson would give the Bulldogs the lead again with seven minutes remaining at 52-51, and it would be enough to give the Bulldogs the 66-61 win.

"Our guys did a great job of getting the ball inside," Rupp said. "I really liked that we were aggressive in getting to the free throw line and we shot 29 free throws for the game. That was a big key for us tonight."

Adrian Oliver led the Spartans with 18 points, while Cooper's 17-point effort led Tech. Guyton followed with 14 points and Gibson finished with 12 for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs remain on the road Monday, Jan. 5, to take on the Hawaii Warriors in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game will be broadcast live on KXKZ 107.5 FM in Ruston with a live audio feed available online at www.z1075fm.com. The pregame show will start around 10:30 p.m.