Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

LA Tech vs. OSU box

LA Tech season stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio ÃÆ'¢Ã¢'¬" Louisiana Tech head coach Eric Konkol turned 39 years old on Tuesday night.

He got a nice present in the form of a road win as the Bulldogs went into Columbus and upset Ohio State, 82-74, in front of 11,572 Buckeye fans inside the Value City Arena.

LA Tech (4-0) opened the game with a 7-0 run and never trailed to match its best start to a season since 1998.

""I was really proud of our guys effort," Konkol said. "This was a big test for us coming into this environment. We had experienced one road game and a couple of home games, but a chance to play against a very good and talented team, I was just really proud of our effort and for stemming the tide in a couple of different moments of the game.

"This was a big win for us and this program. I am really happy for our guys in the locker room because it meant a whole lot to them."

OSU (2-2) managed to tie the game up at 12-12, 25-25 and again at 55-55 with 11:26 left to go in the game, but all three times the Bulldogs answered with a three-pointer to regain the lead.

The 'Dogs ended up knocking down 10 shots from beyond the arc, but none were bigger than Eric McCree's who drilled a corner three with just under two minutes to go after the Buckeyes had clawed to within four.

After a layup by Ohio State's JaQuan Lyle got it back to a two-possession game for the home team, Alex Hamilton missed his shot but got his own rebound and tipped it in. Then McCree came up with a steal and dished it to Jacobi Boykins who delivered the two-handed slam sending the fans to the exits.

"We have a group of guys that have a lot of confidence and aggressive mentalities," Konkol said. "They love competition and are not afraid of big moments. We saw that tonight.

"We have a young team, two guys from last year's roster that played an awful lot and then a lot of guys who are really elevating into new roles. I was curious myself how we would handle some of the adversity that we were going to see. I am very proud of them for how they performed under that type of pressure because there were moments where it could have tilted the other way."

With just a four point lead at intermission, McCree, Hamilton and Boykins took over the second half on offense. The trio combined to score 39 of the team's 40 points during the stanza.

Hamilton finished with a team-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists, McCree registered his fourth career double-double with 17 points and 10 boards and Boykins poured in 16.

The team finished the game shooting 29-of-70 from the field for 41 percent.

Ohio State shot at a 46 percent clip (24-57) and were led by Marc Loving who had a game-high 25 points.

LA Tech returns home to battle North Carolina Central on Friday, Nov. 27. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center.

For all the latest in Bulldog Basketball, follow them on Twitter (@LATechHoops), Instagram (@LATechHoops) and Facebook (LATechMBB) or visit the official website at LATechSports.com.