RUSTON – Any time you do something last that you really love, you want to make a last impression.
Words spoken by head coach
Eric Konkol in the post-game press conference that Louisiana Tech took to heart as they used a big first-half to help produce a dominating 66-43 victory over Charlotte on Saturday night in front of 3,359 fans inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
LA Tech (22-8, 13-5 C-USA) played its most complete half of the season, jumping out to an incredible 38-13 lead through the first 20 minutes.
Charlotte (16-13, 10-8 C-USA) never fully recovered as the Bulldogs closed out the regular season with their 22nd victory and improved to 15-1 in the TAC (fifth time in the last six seasons with 15+ home wins).
"I thought our team made a great lasting impression tonight," said Konkol. "Our energy, our preparation was really spectacular and it showed tonight on the court. The team work of passing the basketball and getting into a good rhythm that first half was really important. But, it was really sparked by our defense and the leadership of our team. This was a total team effort."
Amorie Archibald opened up the evening with back-to-back three-pointers to start an 8-0 run and not much later LA Tech put together a 13-0 run, ignited by
Kalob Ledoux's three three-pointers. The last one put the 'Dogs up 22-6 and forced a 49ers timeout with 9:41 to go.
The home team continued to pour it on. The 25-point lead at the midway point was attributed to 47 percent shooting, including eight triples, and holding Charlotte to 29 percent shooting while forcing 11 turnovers.
Even though LA Tech only made two of its first 12 field goals in the second half, the closest Charlotte got was within 15 at 47-32 with 7:27 to go.
There were plenty more highlights down the stretch like when seniors
Mubarak Muhammed and
DaQuan Bracey threw down back-to-back dunks. And when that duo, plus
Derric Jean, subbed out of the game for the final time in the TAC to a standing ovation from the crowd.
"I learned early in my career that the wins are fun, but the great joy of coaching is watching guys come in as freshmen and leave as seniors," said Konkol. "They leave with degrees in hand and a tremendous experience behind them. The hard part is watching them leave. We have a great group of guys here, guys who have been here a long time."
All four seniors left a lasting impression for the final time on Karl Malone Court. Muhammed collected his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Bracey finished with 12 points. Jean had a game-high four assists and
Oliver Powell registered four boards.
"It was very emotion for me and the other seniors," said Muhammed. "We knew we needed to come out and play hard on defense and we went out there and did that. We were getting stops, having fun, communicating. It is good to see us do that going into the tournament."
Can't forget about the juniors -- Ledoux finished with a game-high 18 points and Archibald posted 11. LA Tech ended up shooting 44 percent from the field (23-52) and 42 percent from beyond the arc (10-24). They also had a +3 rebounding margin and a +6 turnover margin, forcing 16 turnovers that they turned into 27 points.
Charlotte was limited to 37 percent shooting (16-43) with just two made threes. Jordan Shepherd led the way for the 49ers with 11 points.
The Bulldogs finished in a two-way tie for second in the league standings and will be the No. 3 seed in the C-USA Tournament. Their quarterfinal matchup will be against either Marshall or UTEP on Thursday night at 9 p.m. at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
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