RUSTON – Louisiana Tech picked up its 10th straight home win on Wednesday night behind the guard play of Kalob Ledoux and Amorie Archibald who combined to score 40 points in a 78-69 victory over Southeastern Louisiana inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
Both seniors dropped a season-high in scoring with Ledoux pouring in 24 and Archibald posting 16.  They teamed up to make 14 field goals, half of those coming from beyond the arc. 
 
The home win did not come easy for LA Tech (4-1) tough as they were in a dogfight with SLU (1-5) for the majority of the contest.  It was a one-possession game with four minutes to go, but the Bulldogs cranked it up a notch defensively and pulled away from the Lions down the stretch. 
 
"First, we want to give Southeastern a lot of credit," said head coach Eric Konkol.  "They came in like we knew they would and played really, really hard.  They really attack you on both sides of the ball.  I was concerned about their quickness, and it proved true especially to start the game.  
 
"I was disappointed in our effort early on.  We were passive and cautious and really trying to take care of the basketball, but at the same, without any real aggression.  It got us behind.  It wasn't until later in the second half that I really started to recognize our team and we started making the right type of plays to help get a lead.  And pull away at the end."
 
It appeared as though the 'Dogs were going to jump out to a big lead early after opening up with back-to-back three-pointers by JaColby Pemberton and Ledoux.  But, the Lions fired back with an 11-0 run thanks to three triples by Gus Okafor to force a timeout by the home squad. 
 
Down five in the closing minutes of the first half, Ledoux got out in transition for a fastbreak layup and a nothing-but-net three on the break to even things up at 33-33 going into the locker room at halftime.
 
Neither team could pull away from the other in the second half.  With the Bulldogs clinging to a 58-57 lead with seven minutes remaining, Kenneth Lofton, Jr. came alive.  The freshman, making his first career start, scored six straight points and then dished to Archibald under the basket for a layup to push the lead to 66-60. 
 
"It's something we've been talking about for those two guys to be seniors, to be leaders and to be productive," said Konkol.  "This is still a very young part of the season, and we've been playing games every couple of days and have not had a lot of practice time to work on certain things.  It's been a lot of game prep-mode, so you rely on your upperclassmen to use their experience and carry us like this.  Kalob and Amorie did a very nice job that way."
 
Byron Smith of SLU countered with the team's eighth made three of the game to slice their deficit back down to three.  However, Isaiah Crawford (who finished with 10 points) made three straight buckets as LA Tech closed it out by going 4-for-4 from the field in the final three-plus minutes.
 
"It felt like we started playing with some desperation, and that's really what you want for all 40 minutes," said Konkol.  "Every possession is important and you're trying to accomplish something and execute a plan.  On both sides, we kept searching because they were making 3-point shots, they were getting to the rim.  Then, on the other side, we were able to get some baskets in the paint that we were having hard time getting earlier."
 
Both squads shot the cover off the basketball.  The Bulldogs finished at 48.3 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three-point range.  Meanwhile, the Lions shot 57.1 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from deep. 
 
The key stat ended up being turnovers.  The Bulldogs forced 18 and turned them into 29 points.  They were able to generate nine steals and push those live-ball turnovers in transition, scoring 22 fast-break points.
 
Next up for LA Tech is a road matchup against in-state rival UL-Lafayette on Saturday, Dec. 12.  Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
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