Jan. 31, 2009
Box Score
RUSTON -- The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-14; 2-7 WAC) lost another close game Saturday; this time to the San Jose State Spartans (10-10-; 4-5 WAC) by a final score of 53-51 in the Thomas Assembly Center.
"It's been that kind of year," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "We've done a lot of good things. We had more shots tonight than they did which puts you in an opportunity to win the game. Our offensive rebounds were improved tonight, and we got some good looks and kept them off-balanced. In a close game, though, you can't leave it to the end. You've got to get good stops, loose balls and compete every single possession."
Thursday night, the Bulldogs lost on a last-second tip in from Hawaii 54-53. Five of the last seven Bulldog losses have been by five points or less.
SJSU scored early to lead 16-5 over first eight minutes of play. The Bulldogs responded with a 14-5 run over next nine minutes to tie 21-21 with two minutes to play in the first half. Sophomore Shawn Oliverson gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the night with a put-back at the 1:20 mark at 23-21. San Jose State would get a layup before the half and tie the game 23-23 going into the halftime locker room.
The Spartans crept back ahead in the second half before junior Magnum Rolle hit a turnaround jumper to tie the game 37-37 with 7:46 to go in the game. Tech, however, would not reclaim the lead at all for the rest of the night as San Jose State finished with the 53-51 win.
Rolle finished with his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds along with six blocks to lead all scorers. Adrian Oliver led the Spartans with 15 points.
"Our big thing has been consistency," Rupp added. "We've shown that we can play with anybody through spurts of the game. Our struggle has been able to sustain that for 40 minutes."
Tech hits the road again Thursday, Feb. 5, at 9 p.m. to take on the Nevada Wolf Pack. The game will be broadcast live on KXKZ 107.5 FM locally with a live audio feed also available at www.z1075fm.com.
