RUSTON – The Louisiana Tech men's basketball team heads out on the road for a third straight week, this time to take on North Texas in a two-game series at the Super Pit.
 
The West Division showdown gets underway on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.  Both games will be broadcast by Stadium with Chris Vosters and John Giannini calling the action.  Fans can also listen to Dave Nitz and Jack Thigpen call the game through the LA Tech Sports Network.
 
LA Tech (14-5, 7-3 C-USA) is in a stretch of playing five out of six road games, having played two games in El Paso against UTEP and then last week in Hattiesburg versus Southern Miss.
 
The Bulldogs ended up sweeping the Golden Eagles, winning 76-63 on the road and then coming home to pull out a nailbiting 65-62 victory in Ruston.  The team trailed by as much as seven in the second half, but they held USM to just one made field goal in its final 13 attempts to register their 10th home win of the season.
 
After starting conference play 1-2, LA Tech has won six of its last seven league games, putting them in third place in the West Division behind UAB and North Texas who are their next two opponents.
 
Kenneth Lofton, Jr. was one of the key contributors for the 'Dogs against Southern Miss, averaging 12.0 points per game while shooting 84.6 percent from the field (11-of-13).  As a result, he was voted as the C-USA Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season. 
 
The forward is one of five Bulldogs currently averaging double-digit points – Kalob Ledoux (11.7), Isaiah Crawford (11.5), Amorie Archibald (10.7), Lofton, Jr. (10.1) and JaColby Pemberton (10.0). 
 
Defensively, LA Tech continues to rank among the top teams on C-USA.  The Bulldogs are second in the conference and 38th in the country in field goal percentage defense (40.1).  They also rank third in the league and 46th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense (30.0).
 
North Texas (9-5, 5-1 C-USA), the defending C-USA regular season champion, sits in second place in the west.  The Mean Green have won four straight games, including last week's two-game sweep over travel partner Rice.
 
UNT has not lost at home this season, winning all seven games in the Super Pit.  They have won 18 of their last 19 home games dating back to last season with the lone blemish being a loss to LA Tech in 2020.
 
The Mean Green are one of the most efficient teams in the country on offense.  They are shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three, both marks ranking first in C-USA and in the top 20 in the country.
 
Javion Hamlet, last year's C-USA Player of the Year, anchors the squad again, averaging 13.9 points and 4.8 assists per game.  He also ranks first in the conference in free throw percentage at 91.7 percent.
 
LA Tech leads the all-time series over North Texas, 26-11.  The Bulldogs are just 2-4 at the Super Pit since becoming C-USA opponents.  Over the last three seasons (six meetings), five of the games have been decided by six points or less.
 
Fans can follow Bulldog Basketball on Twitter (@LATechHoops), Instagram (@LATechHoops) and Facebook (LATechMBB) for live in-game updates.