RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team has another tough challenge on the road come Saturday night when they face UTEP at 8 p.m. CT inside the Don Haskins Center.
 
The matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.  Fans can also listen to Dave Nitz call the action on KXKZ 107.5 FM (Ruston), KOKA 93.3 FM/980 AM (Shreveport) and KJVC 92.7 FM (Mansfield) as well as on the LA Tech Athletics app.
 
LA Tech (11-4, 2-1 C-USA) suffered its first conference loss of the season on Thursday, falling 89-73 to a hot-shooting UTSA team in San Antonio.  The Roadrunners made a program-record 18 three-pointers, eight of which came from Jhivvan Jackson who scored 37. 
 
The Bulldogs, who have yet to lose back-to-back games this season, were able to match the up-tempo Roadrunners when it came to field goal percentage, but they only made six threes compared to their 18. 
 
LA Tech has scored 70+ points in 13 of its 15 games this season, but Saturday's opponent UTEP (10-6, 1-2 C-USA) has only allowed 70 or more points at home one time.
 
The Miners picked up their first conference win this past Thursday, downing Southern Miss by a final score of 76-64 at home.  The victory put an end to a three-game losing streak while also improving their home record to 9-0 this season.
 
UTEP is one of the top defensive teams in the league, allowing just 63.3 points per game.  Offensively, they do a lot of their damage from the free throw line, ranking first in the league in attempts and second in percentage at 75.6.  They went 34-of-37 from the charity stripe against the Golden Eagles.
 
Bryson Williams has been the anchor for UTEP, averaging a team-high 18.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and has recorded three double-doubles this season.
 
LA Tech leads the all-time series, 14-11.  The Miners have dominated at home, winning nine of the 12 meetings, but two of the Bulldogs wins have come since 2015.  The last two meetings have been decided by one possession.