RUSTON – Louisiana Tech plays in its first road conference game of the season on Thursday night at 9 p.m. CT against UTEP in the Don Haskins Center.  It will be the Bulldogs first true road game since Dec. 4.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 6 | 9 p.m. CT
Location: Don Haskins Center (El Paso, Texas)
TV/Stream: CBS Sports Network
Radio: 107.5 FM | LA Tech Athletics app
Stats: LATechSports.com
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (11-3, 2-0 C-USA)
LA Tech improved to 2-0 in C-USA play after overcoming a 17-point deficit to defeat WKU, 74-73, on New Year's Day Saturday.  The Bulldogs found themselves down 17 with 15:52 left in the second half (and down 12 with 3:05) to play), but they ended up matching the largest comeback victory in Thomas Assembly Center history.
 
Cobe Williams, the C-USA Player of the Week, scored 18 points against the Hilltoppers, including eight straight with under a minute remaining.  Two of those made field goals were three-pointers (had a career-high four triples).  This performance was preceded by his career-high 22 points versus Marshall.
 
Kenneth Lofton, Jr. recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds against WKU.  He ended up making a career-high 10 free throws, including two with five seconds left, to help win the game.
 
Williams up his scoring average to 9.2 points per game, behind only Lofton, Jr. (17.5), Amorie Archibald (13.7) and Keaston Willis (11.4).  The Bulldogs currently rank second in the league and 33nd in the country in scoring offense at 80.1 points per game.   
 
ABOUT UTEP (7-6, 0-1 C-USA)
UTEP lost its first Conference USA game of the season a week ago, falling 75-62 at UAB.  The Miners return home where they are 5-3 this season.
 
They rank second in the league and 32nd in the country in turnover margin at +3.9.  They force 16.3 turnovers per game, having forced at least 15 in nine of their 13 games.  They are also one of the best free throw shooting teams in the nation at 76.1 percent.
 
Guard Souley Boum, a Third Team All-Conference USA selection last season, leads the team in scoring at 19.9 points per game.  He has scored 20+ points in five games this season and has made 62 free throws, 18th most in the country.  Keonte Kennedy and Jamal Bieniemy are also averaging double figures at 13.3 and 12.5 points per game, respectively.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series over UTEP, 16-12.  The Bulldogs are 9-4 against the Miners since becoming Conference USA opponents. 
 
Thursday will mark the fourth straight meeting in El Paso between LA Tech and UTEP.  The two teams played twice in El Paso last season with the Miners winning the first game, 82-74, and the Bulldogs taking the second game, 73-55.
 
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