RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team makes its longest trip of the season this weekend as the Bulldogs head to El Paso to take on UTEP in a two-game series inside the Don Haskins Center.
 
The first matchup comes Friday at 8 p.m. CT followed by a 7 p.m. CT tipoff on Saturday.  Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Erik Elken and Leonard Owens calling the game.  Fans can also listen to Dave Nitz and Jack Thigpen call the action through the LA Tech Sports Network.
 
LA Tech (11-4, 4-2 C-USA) is coming off its first C-USA sweep after downing UTSA, 77-66 and 82-66, this past weekend.  On Saturday, the Bulldogs connected for a season-high 14 three-pointers.  The 14 threes also tied for the most in program history against a C-USA opponent. 
 
Defensively, the 'Dogs held the Roadrunners to a season-low 33.8 percent shooting from the field.  In conference games only, the team currently ranks first in the league in field goal percentage defense (allowing 37.8 percent) and in three-point field goal percentage defense (allowing 27.5 percent).
 
Amorie Archibald shined in both home contests.  The senior scored a season-high 19 points on Friday, but outdid that number on Saturday with a new season-high of 22 points while making five triples.
 
Over the last three games, the guard is averaging 18.3 points while shooting 57.1 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from behind the arc.
 
Isaiah Crawford was another strong contributor, recording 15 points and a season-high eight rebounds in the Saturday contest.  The sophomore, who started both games, is still averaging a team-best 13.5 points during C-USA play and has scored in double-figures in five of the six league games.
 
The 4-2 league mark has the Bulldogs in a tie for third in the West Division standings.  UTEP (6-6, 2-4 C-USA) is in sixth place in the West Division, having lost its last three games, one coming at home to Rice (only home loss this season) and the other two happening at North Texas this past weekend.
 
The Miners are one of the best teams in the country at taking care of the basketball.  They only average 10.2 turnovers per game that ranks first in C-USA and 10th in the nation.  They also rank first in the league in assist-turnover ratio at 1.26 and have a +3.3 turnover margin.
 
UTEP has a strong inside-outside combination with Souley Boum and Bryson Williams.  The guard Boum is averaging a team-high 16.1 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from three and 81 percent from the foul line. 
 
The forward Williams, a First Team All-Conference USA selection last season, is averaging 14.8 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per contest.  He scored a season-high 29 points in the team's last league victory that came over Rice. 
 
LA Tech leads the all-time series, 15-11.  The Bulldogs have won eight of the last 11 meetings, including last season's 64-61 victory in El Paso.  Three points or less has decided the last three meetings in the Don Haskins Center.
 
Fans can follow Bulldog Basketball on Twitter (@LATechHoops), Instagram (@LATechHoops) and Facebook (LATechMBB) for live in-game updates.