Jan. 29, 2011

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RUSTON, La. - Junior forward Olu Ashaolu recorded his third-straight double-double as the Louisiana Tech men's basketball team defeated Boise State 70-60 on Saturday at the Thomas Assembly Center.

It was the Bulldogs' second-straight win of the season as they improved to 11-12 overall and 2-7 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Broncos lost their second-consecutive game and fell to 12-9 overall, 5-4 in the WAC.

"This was a great defensive effort," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "Boise State was averaging 75 points a game and we held them to 60. When we battle hard defensively we have a chance to win. That gave us a competitive edge tonight."

Ashaolu recorded 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season.

Senior guard DeAndre Brown scored a game-high 19 points and provided three assists. He, along with freshmen guards Kenyon McNeaill and Cordarius Johnson made two three-pointers as Tech shot 42.1 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc.

McNeaill finished the game with 10 points and was 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

Tech trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before going on a 20-8 run to go into halftime tied 32-32. The Bulldogs shot 54.2 percent from the field in the period.

In the second half, Brown made came up with a steal and converted a wide open lay-up to give the Bulldogs a 37-36 lead at the 16:42 mark, its first since an 8-6 lead that Tech had towards the beginning of the game.

Junior forward Antwond Roshell hit four consecutive free throws to give Tech a 60-53 lead with 4:31 remaining. With 1:43 to play, Boise State's La'Shard Anderson hit a lay-up to cut the Tech lead to 63-60. However, the Bulldogs scored the next seven points as they won by 10 points, their largest lead of the game.

For the game, Tech shot 48 percent from the field and held Boise State to 38.6 percent shooting and just 17.6 percent (3-17) from three-point range.

Roshell tied a career-best with three blocked shots to go with four points and four rebounds in another solid outing from the Milwaukee, Wis. native.

Saturday was the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend as Rupp and his staff joined coaches around the country in wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes.

"I was a little emotional before the game about this being the coaches vs. cancer game," Rupp said. "Cancer has affected all of our lives. I had three or four assistant coaches that I have coached with that have passed away due to cancer. I dedicated this game to them. It was fun to see our guys fight and battle just like those cancer survivors do."

Daequon Montreal and Anderson each had 14 points to lead the Broncos.

Louisiana Tech will next be in action on Saturday Feb. 5 at Fresno State. The game begins at 10 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.