RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team is set to take on UTSA on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court in what will be the final game before bonus play begins.
 
The matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required) with Doug Anderson and Stan Humphries calling the action.  Fans can also listen to the Voice of the Bulldogs Dave Nitz and Jack Thigpen call the game through the LA Tech Sports Network on KXKZ 107.5 FM (Ruston), KJVC 92.7 FM (Mansfield) and KRMD 100.7 FM/1340 AM (Shreveport) as well as on the Louisiana Tech X mobile app.
 
After its victory on Thursday, LA Tech (16-10, 6-7 C-USA) is in a four-way tie for seventh place in the league standings and can finish in either the 6-10 or 11-14 pod.  The final four games of conference action will be announced on Saturday night.   
 
That win came against the Miners of UTEP and it put an end to the Bulldogs three-game losing skid while keeping their undefeated home record in tact at 13-0.
 
LA Tech for the majority of the game, but the lead remained at single digits for the most part.  It was a one-possession game with less than four minutes go when Jacolby Pemberton and Amorie Archibald hit back-to-back three-pointers as part of a 15-4 run to pull away. 
 
DaQuan Bracey was the star of the show on Valentine's Day.  He turned in one of his best performances as a Bulldog, dropping a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.  He also added a team-high six rebounds and dished out three dimes while playing almost the entire game.
 
He upped his scoring average to 14.7 points per game which ranks 13th in C-USA.  It was his sixth career 20-point scoring performance and the 11th of his career.
 
There was the defense that shined, holding UTEP to just 57 points in the 71-57 win.  It marked the eighth time this season the 'Dogs have held their opponent under 60, six of which are conference opponents. 
 
With a 6-0 mark at home in league action, on average the Bulldogs are allowing just 58.7 points per game. 
 
Saturday's opponent UTSA (15-11, 9-4 C-USA) had its three-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday with a 78-71 loss at Southern Miss.  Still, the Roadrunners are tied for second in the league standings and have already clinched a spot in the top pod.
 
UTSA has one of the most prolific offenses in C-USA.  They rank second in the league in scoring offense, averaging 79.6 points per game.  And it stems a lot from their three-point shooting as they average a league-best 9.5 triples per game.
 
Guards Jhivvan Jackson (last year's C-USA Freshman of the Year) and Keaton Wallace are the nation's third-highest scoring duo.  They rank No. 1 and No. 3 in the conference in scoring, averaging 22.8 and 21.3 points per game, respectively.  They each have scored at least 45 points in a single game this season.
 
LA Tech and UTSA will meet for the 16th time.  The two have been league foes each of the last seven seasons (one season in the WAC and six seasons in C-USA).  The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 11-5, but the Roadrunners have won three of the last four.  Two of those wins have come in Ruston and both were game-winners in the closing seconds.
 
Twitter users can follow @LATechHoops for live in-game updates.