RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team was able to overcome a big first-half deficit to LSU, but the Bulldogs could not overcome the big deficit in the second half as they fell 83-70 to the Tigers on Saturday afternoon inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
LA Tech managed to erase a 14-point deficit and even took the lead early in the second half.  However, LSU used its hot shooting from three to go up by as much as 18 and come away with the win. 
 
The 'Dogs lost on the scoreboard, but the community won as 6,832 fans packed into the TAC for the Hoops 4 Disaster Relief exhibition that raised money for the relief efforts stemming from the April 25 tornado that struck the City of Ruston and the Louisiana Tech University campus.
 
"Thanks again to LSU for coming here and helping us do this for our community," said head coach Eric Konkol.  "What a great crowd.  We fell short on the basketball end, but this is something we will really use going forward after playing a very good LSU team.  Looking forward to getting back to work with our guys. 
 
"We have a competitive, hard-playing group.  Xaiver came off the bench and made an impact in the game, as did other guys.  We have a lot of fight and will continue to fight this season."
 
DaQuan Bracey and Mubarak Muhammed hit back-to-back buckets to open the game, but the team went cold for the next nine minutes.  They ended up making just five of their first 19 shot attempts, allowing the Tigers to go up 26-12 with 10:10 to go in the first half.
 
At that point, Xaiver Armstead subbed in and provided a huge spark off the bench.  The junior college transfer connected on three triples that helped the Bulldogs be down just one at the midway point, 36-35.
 
Coming out of the half, LSU's Javonte Smart hit two of his four three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give his squad a five-point edge.  Derric Jean responded with two free throws and a made layup, then Amorie Archibald fired one in from downtown to give LA Tech a 44-42 advantage with 18:07 to play.
 
It was the 'Dogs first lead in over 20 minutes of action, and it got erased quickly by the Tigers hot shooting from beyond the arc.  The visitors from Baton Rouge would make five more threes over the next nine minutes to build its largest lead at 68-50. 
 
Four of those five threes came from Darius Days during the run, matching Smart's efforts from deep for the game. 
 
Despite Kalob Ledoux providing some much-needed offense late, LA Tech was only able to get to within 11 at the five-minute mark which was stymied by LSU's 10th-made three of the game. 
 
LA Tech was not able to match LSU's offensive performance, shooting just 32 percent from the field (25-78) and 28 percent from beyond the arc (8-29). 
 
Four Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Ledoux who had 18 along with Armstead (11 all in the first half) and Jean (10).  Muhammed was the fourth with 10 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds for a double-double.   
 
"We got better today," said Jean who made his return after missing most of last season due to injury.    "Hopefully, we can learn from this and get better for the next game.  It was great to be out there with my brothers fighting.  This was very valuable.  We are very appreciative to everyone who came out and supported this relief effort."
 
The defending SEC champion and preseason nationally-ranked Tigers shot 58 percent from the field (29-60) and 46 percent (10-22) from deep.  They had six players score in double figures, led by Smart who finished with 18, followed closely by Days with 16.
 
LA Tech will open up the 2019-20 regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
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.