NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Tech was unable to secure its first road win of the season, falling 61-53 to Tulane on Wednesday night inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.
 
LA Tech (6-4) and Tulane (8-4) were only one made field goal apart.  Both hit only three three-pointers.  Therefore, the difference in the game ended up being free throws as the Bulldogs made 14 of their 18 attempts while the Green Wave lived at the charity stripe even more so, sinking 24 of their 31 tries.
 
There were only 10 total fouls called in the first half, allowing for a smoother basketball game but still very little offense.  With the Bulldogs down five, they proceeded to go on a 6-0 run capped by a bucket in the paint by AJ Bates to take their first lead of the contest at 17-16 with 5:43 to play in the stanza.
 
The Green Wave regained the lead just 17 seconds later thanks to a triple by Scotty Middleton, but DJ Dudley countered with a deep three of his own to give the 'Dogs a 20-19 edge.  That would be the last basket LA Tech would make in the first half as Tulane closed on a 9-0 run to take an 8-point advantage into halftime.
 
The second half was littered with fouls … 28 of them to be exact.  LA Tech was able to hold Tulane, who came in averaging 76 points a game, to just seven made field goals in the entire second stanza (and only four over the final 15 minutes).
 
However, the Bulldogs could not generate an offensive run or keep the Green Wave off the foul line.  LA Tech managed to get to within six on two occasions, one of which was following an old-fashioned three-point play by Scooter Williams at the 1:26 mark.  But Tulane drew three more fouls down the stretch and made all six of its free throws to finish off the contest.
 
Dudley finished with a game-high 17 points, reaching double figures for the sixth consecutive game.  Williams (13) and Bates (10) also tallied double-digit points.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
 
On the loss…
"Every possession matters.  This was a good basketball that we played.  On their home floor, we had to exceed their effort and energy.  I thought we let some possessions get away from us, particularly at the end of the first half.  We were up 20-19 and we do not close the half out well and they go up eight at halftime.  And that ended up being the deficit that we lost by.  We fouled way too much, played too handsy.  They went to the free throw line 31 times.  You cannot put people on the free throw line.  This box score is hurtful."
 
On Tulane getting to the foul line…
"They made an effort to just driving the ball.  We started worrying about three-point shooters and not giving gap help.  We started to get back into the game when we went zone and packed it in, but at the end of the day we cannot foul and send them to the free throw line as much as we did.  We scored more field goals, made the same number of threes, dominated them on the glass, we cannot lose those types of games."
 
NOTABLES

• With the loss, LA Tech now trails in the all-time series against Tulane, 3-2.  The Bulldogs had their two-game winning streak over the Green Wave snapped with the defeat.
• LA Tech held Tulane to just 61 points on 17 made field goals and just three made field goals, all season lows for the Green Wave.  The Bulldogs have now held seven of their 10 opponents to less than 65 points this season.
• LA Tech held Tulane to 12.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, a season low for an opponent.  Not a single opponent has shot over 31 percent from three this season.
• The 24 made free throws and 31 free throw attempts were the most surrendered by the Bulldogs this season.
• LA Tech has now outrebounded eight of its 10 opponents this season.  The Bulldogs had a 43-32 rebounding advantage against the Green Wave.  Nineteen of those were offensive rebounds, the second most in a single game this season.  LA Tech has had 40+ boards in six games.
• DJ Dudley scored in double figures for a sixth straight game, netting a game-high 17 points.  It marked the fourth time this season anchoring the Bulldogs in scoring.
• Scooter Williams reached double-digit points for the fourth time this season with 13 points, his most since Nov. 19 at Indiana State.
• AJ Bates scored in double figures for the sixth time this season (five of the last six) with 10 points.  He made multiple three-pointers for the fifth time.
• Kaden Cooper led the Bulldogs in rebounding for the fifth time this season and the 23rd time in his LA Tech career, pulling down seven boards.

UP NEXT
LA Tech will play its final non-conference game of the regular season on Monday when the Bulldogs host Dallas Christian inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.  Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
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