LA Tech vs. UTEP Preview
LA Tech is in a tie for second in the West Division standings after picking up its second straight road win, an 82-77 victory over Charlotte. Four Bulldogs scored 14+ points and the team committed a season-low five turnovers (tied for fewest ever in a C-USA game for the program) and had a +12 turnover margin.
The Bulldogs scored 49 second-half points to hold off the 49ers. They have been predominantly a second-half team during league action, averaging 42.1 points while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Kenneth Lofton, Jr. anchored the team in almost every statistical in Charlotte with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. The Naismith Trophy Midseason Team selection is averaging 19.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals over his last six games.
Keaston Willis recorded 16 points in Charlotte while making three triples to give him 65 total on the season, which ranks as the 10th most in a single season in program history. He has scored in double figures eight straight games, averaging 14.4 points and 3.3 made threes per game during that stretch.
After putting together a six-game winning streak, UTEP has dropped its last two games to North Texas and Marshall. The Miners sit in fourth in the C-USA West Division standings. They currently rank second in C-USA and top 30 in the country in free throw percentage (76.7) and turnover margin (3.3). They made 20 of their 23 free throw attempts in their last outing, an 88-79 loss to the Thundering Herd.
UTEP is led by the two-headed monster of Souley Boum and Jamal Bieniemy. Boum is averaging a league-best 19.7 points per game while Bieniemy is averaging 16.0 points per game. The highest scoring duo in C-USA have combined to score 48 percent of their team's points this season.
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus UTEP, 17-12. The Bulldogs have won two straight, including a 64-52 win back on Jan. 6 in El Paso, Texas. They have also won four of the last five and 10 of the last 13 meetings in the series. Thursday will be the first time since 2019 that the Bulldogs host the Miners in the TAC. They have won six straight in Ruston.
