GameDay Central | Game Notes

RUSTON ââ'¬" The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team will don its red uniforms for the first time at home this season on Thursday night when they play host to UTEP in the third annual Red Out game which tips off at 6:30 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center.

The matchup will be streamed live on CampusInsiders.com and Twitter will Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Darius Walker (analyst) calling the action in Ruston.

LA Tech (9-5, 1-0 C-USA) is 2-0 all-time in Red Out games, a fairly new tradition that started in 2015 against none other than UTEP (2-11, 0-1 C-USA).

The Bulldogs were able to win their fifth straight conference opener this past Sunday as Derric Jean and Jacobi Boykins each scored 18 points to help down Southern Miss by a score of 79-55 in Hattiesburg.

It was the 'Dogs first true road victory of the season as well as their sixth straight over the Golden Eagles. After shooting a sluggish 23 percent from the field in the first half, the team hit on 62 percent in the second half to outscore USM 54-37 over the final 20 minutes of action.

Boykins hit three three-pointers, marking the 10th time this season he has recorded multiple threes in a single game. The junior shooting guard is currently second on the team in scoring average (15.0 ppg) while ranking fourth in C-USA in three-point shooting percentage (42.9).

Erik McCree was the third Bulldog in double figures with 10 points to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds, registering his seventh double-double in the last nine games.

He continues to lead the team in both categories ââ'¬" 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game ââ'¬" while ranking in the top eight in the league.

UTEP opened the season winning two of its first three games but have since lost 10 in a row. Their last defeat came in the C-USA opener which ended in a 67-55 loss at UTSA.

The average margin of defeat during the losing streak is only 8.0 points per game with four of the 10 losses coming by five points or less.

The Miners will be going for their first true road win of the season (0-3 so far). Leading the way is the dynamic guard duo of Omega Harris and Dominic Artis who are averaging 16.3 and 15.2 points per game, respectively.

LA Tech and UTEP have won 10 games apiece in the series with the first ever meeting taking place in 1952. The two teams were league foes in the Western Athletic Conference from 2001-05 and again in 2013 when the Bulldogs joined Conference USA.

The 'Dogs have won three of the last four meetings and are 7-1 all-time against the Miners in Ruston. UTEP did win the last meeting which was a 91-80 decision in El Paso last season.

The game can be heard live on the LA Tech Sports Network on KXKZ 107.5 FM (Ruston) and KJVC 92.7 FM (Mansfield) as well as on the LA Tech X Mobile app. The "Voice of the Bulldogs" Dave Nitz and Jack Thigpen will call the action.

Twitter users can receive live in-game updates by following @LATechHoops.