March 5, 2009
Box Score
MOSCOW, Idaho -- A fierce second half by the Idaho Vandals snapped the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs' (14-17; 6-10 WAC) four-game winning streak Thursday night in the Cowan Spectrum by a final score of 66-58 and closed out the Bulldogs' regular season.
"We didn't do a good job of getting bodies on people or blocking out tonight," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "Those are some of the things you have to do to get a win. We let them outrebound us and they went inside on us. At times we had good ball movement, and we were successful when we did. But at the end of the day, we have to do a better job of doing the little things."
Bulldogs started with a 4-0 run in the first minute of play before the Vandals ran 11-4 over the next seven minutes to lead 11-8 with 12:05 to play in the first half.
Tech answered with a 10-2 run of its own to retake the lead 18-13 less than three minutes later. Idaho again answered with a 12-6 run to lead 25-24 lead with 1:10 to play in the half. Junior David Jackson, who played basketball for Idaho his freshman year, silenced his former home crowd with an 18-footer as time expired to give Tech the 26-25 lead going into halftime. Jackson finished with seven first half points.
After all but trading baskets to start the second half, Idaho went up 34-29 with a three-pointer by junior Mac Hopson for his points of the night for the Vandals with 15:47 left to play. The Vandals extended their lead to 48-41 nine minutes later with a dunk by junior Marvin Jefferson at the 6:54 mark.
Junior Kyle Gibson answered the proverbial bell shortly after with seven straight points to pull the Bulldogs back within two 50-48 with less than five minutes to play. It would not prove enough, however, as the Vandals finished with the win.
Gibson's 25 points led all scorers for the night. Jefferson led the Vandals with 13 points.
Louisiana Tech will await the remaining WAC games to see who and when they will play next. All the WAC Tournament broadcasts for the Bulldogs will be on KXKZ 107.5 FM with a live audio feed over the internet at www.z1075fm.com.
Check back with Latechsports.com Saturday when seeding for the WAC Tournament is final.
