RUSTON – After a pair of home wins, Louisiana Tech hits the road again to face Indiana State on Wednesday night.  This is part of a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs turning around to face the Sycamores in Ruston one week later.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 19 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Hulman Center (Terre Haute, Ind.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network (107.5 FM) | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (2-1)
LA Tech locked in defensively and used a strong second half to pull away from Jackson State, earning a 68-51 victory this past Saturday inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.  The Bulldogs held the Tigers to just 26.8 percent shooting from the field. JSU built a 25-17 lead with 7:28 to go in the first stanza, but LA Tech allowed just 26 total points the rest of the way, ultimately using a 13-2 run midway through the second half to put the game out of reach.
 
The Bulldogs were relentless on the glass, outrebounding the Tigers 57-37.  It marked the most boards in a single game since 2022 against Tennessee-Southern and the most against a DI op­ponent since 2006, which came against San Jose State.  Of those, 23 of them were offensive rebounds.
 
LA Tech has had 50+ rebounds in back-to-back games now, the first time doing so since 2014, and held both opponents (Lyon College and JSU) to under 30 percent shooting from the floor, something that has not happened in consecutive games in at least 20 years.
 
AJ Bates and Kaden Cooper led the Bulldogs in scoring against JSU, each posting 15 points.  Cooper has been highly efficient coming off the bench the last two games, averaging 15.5 points while shooting 66.7 percent from the field to go along with 7.0 boards per contest.  Meanwhile, Bates has seen the most action on the floor so far this young season, averaging 30.7 minutes.  Over the last two contests, he is averaging 10.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.5 boards per game.
 
Kylan Howze has seen his playing team increase in each game.  He played 26 minutes against JSU, registering six points and nine rebounds. He is the top rebounder so far, averaging 7.0 per game (has back-to-back games with nine apiece).
 
ABOUT INDIANA STATE (2-2)
Following a season-opening loss at Charlotte, Indiana State won back-to-back contests against Illinois Tech (104-73) and SIUE (64-55). Most recently, the Sycamores suffered a 100- 62 loss at No. 4-ranked Duke this past Friday.
 
The Sycamores compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, tying for eighth last season with an 8-12 league mark (went 14-18 overall).
 
Associate head coach Mark Slessinger has been serving as Indiana State's acting head coach in Matthew Graves' absence. It was announced about a month ago that Graves, in his second at the helm, would be taking a leave of absence due to a medical procedure.
 
Ian Scott, a graduate transfer from Grace Col­lege, has been doing it all for the Sycamores so far this season.  He anchors the team in several statistical categories including scoring (14.0 points per game) and rebounding (8.3 boards per game) as well as total steals (eight) and total blocks (five).  His best game was the season opener as Scott registered 24 points and 11 rebounds at Char­lotte, earning himself MVC Newcomer of the Week honors.
 
THE SERIES
The series between LA Tech and Indiana State is tied, 1-1.  Both matchups came during the 1974-75 season with the Sycamores winning the season opener in Terre Haute by a final score of 77-72.  Less than two months later, Indiana State came to Ruston where LA Tech got revenge with a 67-63 victory.
 
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