Feb. 17, 2012
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| Coach White Post Game Interview | Postgame Notes
RUSTON, La. - Freshman guard Raheem Appleby scored 17 second half points to lead Louisiana Tech to a come-from-behind win over North Dakota 58-53 Thursday night in front of 4,071 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.
The Bulldogs improve to 12-14 overall while the Fighting Sioux drop to 11-14.
With 11 minutes left in the game, UND's Aaron Anderson made a layup to put Tech down by eight.
Two free throws from senior Romario Souza and an Appleby three-pointer cut the deficit to 43-40 over just over minute later.
North Dakota's Patrick Mitchell grabbed a rebound off a missed LA Tech three-point attempt and threw a long pass down court to Troy Huff for a fastbreak dunk to increase the Bulldogs' disadvantage to five a possession later.
Junior Brandon Gibson scored Tech's next eight points including back-to-back three-point field goals to give Tech a 48-47 lead with 6:02 remaining on the clock.
After both teams traded the lead over the next two and a half minutes, Appleby hit a jumper in the paint to give Tech the lead for good 53-52.
The Bulldogs outscored UND 5-1 over the final 3:23 to take home the victory.
LA Tech started the game down one before the tip off after a technical was assessed for a violation of pregame rules and Anderson made 1-of-2 free throws. The Bulldogs did not take their first lead of the game until the 14:10 mark of the period on a three-pointer from senior guard Trevor Gaskins to go up 7-6.
The Fighting Sioux took the advantage back two possessions later and went up as much as six with just over five minutes left until halftime.
Gaskins' jumper at the 3:06 mark cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 22-20. Three made free throws from UND over the next 50 seconds gave them a five point lead.
Those would be the final points either team would score the rest of the way as the Fighting Sioux took a 25-20 lead into halftime.
For the contest, Appleby had a game-high 19 points and two steals. Gaskins and Gibson both reached double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Freshman guard Kenneth Smith grabbed 10 rebounds, tying his career-high, and dished out four assists to give him 100 on the season. Souza pulled down eight boards which matched his career-best in a Bulldog uniform.
Tech shot 39.6 percent (19-46) from the field and made six shots from beyond the arc. They are four made three-pointers away from setting a new school record for a season.
UND was led by Anderson with 14 points while Mitchell added 12 including nine coming from beyond the arc. Huff, the team's leading scorer, chipped in with 10 as well.
Huff and Mitchell both grabbed seven rebounds apiece to pace the team while Mitchell had a team-high two assists.
Jordan Allard came off the bench and blocked a game-best two shots.
The Fighting Sioux went 19-for-52 (36.5 percent) from the field and made only 57.9 percent (11-19) of their free throws.
UND outrebounded the Bulldogs 40-31 including 14-9 on the offensive glass. The Fighting Sioux though could only convert those 14 rebounds into eight second chance points.
Louisiana Tech continues their four-game homestand Saturday afternoon as they take on Central Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. as part of SEARS' ESPN BracketBuster program.
