RUSTON – Louisiana Tech closes out non-conference play Saturday when the Bulldogs host Rust College inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 21 | 3 p.m. CT
Location: Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, La.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics App
Tickets: LATechSports.com/Tickets
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (10-2)
In a battle of preseason conference favorites, LA Tech defeated Grand Canyon this past Monday by a final score of 74-66.  As a result, the Bulldogs went 2-0 in the CUSA/WAC Challenge this season as they also won at UT Arlington.
 
The 'Dogs used a 12-0 run to take a 13-point lead over the Lopes with eight minutes to go.  GCU would slice the deficit down to one with 3:10 remaining, but LA Tech closed out the game on a 9-2 run to collect its 10th victory of the season.
 
The team shot 51.9 percent from the field versus the Lopes, marking the fourth straight game eclipsing 50 percent shooting (first time done since 2018).  The Bulldogs are one of only 20 teams in the country shooting over 50 percent from the field this season, ranking 18th at 50.2 percent.
 
Sean Newman Jr. had his best game as a Bulldog, scoring a career-high 25 points to go along with nine assists.  The point guard scored or assisted on 17 of LA Tech's 28 made field goals.  In the 9-2 run to close out the win, he scored seven of those points and assisted on the other basket to finish off GCU.
 
He continues to rank second in the country in both total assists (108) and assists per game (9.0), having recorded at least eight dimes in nine games.  He also became the fastest Bulldog to reach 100 assists in a season, needing just 12 games to do it (previous record was 14 games).
 
Despite foul trouble against GCU, Daniel Batcho was dominant again scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting while also tallying seven rebounds and three blocks.  The power forward has scored 19+ points in five of his last six games, averaging a team-best 19.4 points per contest.  He continues to rank first in the nation in field goal percentage (74.3).
 
And with three rejections against the Lopes, Batcho became the eighth Bulldog in program history to eclipse 100 career blocks.  His 34 total blocks this season is the second most of anyone in the country.  LA Tech as a team is averaging 5.5 blocks per game, a stat that ranks 15th in the nation.
 
ABOUT RUST COLLEGE (3-8)
Rust College is a private historically black college in Holly Springs, Mississippi, close to the Tennessee border.  They are an NAIA school that is competing in the new HBCU Athletic Conference.
 
After dropping their first six games, the Bearcats have won three of their last five with victories over Lemoyne-Owen, Oakwood, and most recently a 74-72 win against Virgin Islands.  Rust, led by Jayden Stephens who had a game-high 32 points, shot 43.9 percent from the field and had a +8-rebounding margin in the victory over the Buccaneers.
 
Jordan Fordyuce and Isiah McCallum lead the team in scoring with an average of 14.7 and 14.4 points per game, respectively.  Fordyuce has had two 20+ scoring performances including a 22-point effort in a loss to Wiley College.  McCallum's best game came at Wilberforce, posting 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
 
THE SERIES
Saturday will be the first ever meeting between LA Tech and Rust College on the hardwood.
 
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