Dec. 15, 2009
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
RUSTON, La. - Senior Jamel Guyton scored 21 points to help lead Louisiana Tech to an 87-81 win over Murray State at the Thomas Assembly Center on Tuesday.
The win stopped a red-hot Racer team as they had won eight consecutive games. LA Tech improved to 9-2 while Murray State fell to 8-2.
"Murray State did a good job," said head coach Kerry Rupp. "That's a very good team. In the first half we were scrambling to get guys back and then we got them on the same thing in the second half. It was a hard fought game and we knew it was going to be a good game."
The Bulldogs shot 57.1 percent from the field while the Racers shot 45.8 percent. Each team had 20 turnovers, a season high for Tech. The Bulldogs shot 45 free throws on the night and converted 33 of them (73 percent). MSU was 19-of-24 (79 percent).
All but two of Guyton's 21 points came at the free throw line (7-for-8) and beyond the three-point arc (4-for-4). Junior DeAndre Brown had a season-best 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting including two three-pointers.
Murray State built its largest lead of the game at 26-17 on a 13-3 run. Tech never took the lead in the half but fought back to go into half down three, 41-38.
In the second half, Tech outscored MSU 49-40 and never trailed after sophomore Olu Ashaolu's jumper gave the Bulldogs a 55-54 lead with 12:30 remaining.
The Racers scored 13 points, including three three-pointers in the final minute to keep things interesting. However, LA Tech hit 9-of-10 free throws during that span to pull away and improved to 3-0 at home.
"I thought our aggressiveness and intensity picked up in the second half," Rupp said. "We've got guys that can score, but it's a matter of if they have the intensity and focus to stay in the game plan."
Senior Kyle Gibson scored 18 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the foul line and senior Magnum Rolle chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
Isacc Miles led five Racers in double figures with 20 points.
LA Tech hosts McNeese State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
