RUSTON – Louisiana Tech puts its eight-game home winning streak on the line Thursday night when the Bulldogs host Kennesaw State inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 13 | 6:30 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 (17-7, 6-5 CUSA)
After dropping its first five conference road games, LA Tech picked up its first league win away from home in an 82-71 victo­ry at FIU this past Saturday. The Bulldogs never trailed in the game, leading by as much as 18 points in the first half.
 
The Bulldogs found their offense again, shooting 60.8 percent from the field versus the Panthers which was their second-best shooting performance of the season. It was also the third-best shooting percentage ever for LA Tech in a CUSA game. The 'Dogs currently rank 44th in the country in field goal percentage (47.8).
 
The story of the game was the play of AJ Bates. The freshman from Houston, Texas made his first collegiate start and ended up playing the entire 40 minutes while registering career highs in points (19), made field goals (8), assists (7), and steals (3). He became the first LA Tech freshman since 2023 to play an entire game and his 19 points was the second most scored by a fresh­man in their first career start since 1997.
 
Amaree Abram led the Bulldogs in scoring versus the Pan­thers, tallying a game-high 20 points (second most scored this season). He made four three-pointers in the process, giving him a team-best 52 triples this season. His shooting percentage is on the rise as of late, averaging 14.7 points over the last three games while shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 50.0 from beyond the arc.
 
Sean Newman Jr. ranks top three in the country in both total assists (210) and assists per game (8.8). His six dimes at FIU brought his season assists total to 210, which ranks as the fourth most in program history. He currently has a streak of 17 consecu­tive games with at least five assists, the second longest streak in school history. He has recorded at least five dimes in 23 of the 24 games played this season.
 
Daniel Batcho was productive on both ends at FIU, register­ing 17 points while also recording three blocks (ninth time this season he has posted at least 10 points and three rejections in a single game). He continues to be the nation's leader in field goal percentage at 69.7 percent. He now has 52 blocks on the season, 12th most in the country. He is currently one of only three play­ers in the country (along with Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton and Johni Broome of Auburn) to be averaging at least 18 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks per game.
 
ABOUT KENNESAW STATE (14-10, 6-5 CUSA)
Kennesaw State is in a two-way tie with Louisi­ana Tech for fifth in the conference standings with a 6-5 record. The Owls are coming off a four-game home stand where it defeated FIU and WKU while falling narrowly to Liberty and most recently Middle Tennessee. Kennesaw State found it­self down 15 at halftime to the Blue Raiders but stormed back with a shot to win it at the buzzer coming up short in a 76-75 loss.
 
Of KSU's 11 conference games so far, only four have come away from home. The Owls are 1-3 in league road games so far with the lone win coming at New Mexico State.
 
Kennesaw State has the second-best scoring offense in conference play this season, averaging 74.2 points per game. The Owls have scored 70+ points in eight of their 11 CUSA contests so far.  Part of their offensive success is getting to the foul line a bunch. They rank top 40 in the country in free throw attempts and free throws made. During CUSA action, the Owls have taken a league-best 230 free throws.
 
KSU also ranks second in league action in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 41.4 percent from the field.
 
Kennesaw State has proven to be one of the top rebounding teams in the country. They rank top 20 in the nation in every rebounding category -- rebound margin (7.5), rebounds per game (42.50), defensive rebounds per game (28.54), and offensive rebounds per game (13.96). The Owls rank first in all four rebounding cat­egories during league action as well, having been outrebounded only twice in 11 CUSA games.
 
Adrian Wooley and Simeon Cottle are the top scoring duo in CUSA, averaging 18.9 and 18.1 points per game this season, respectively. The tandem accounts for 47.4 percent of KSU's scoring.
Wooley, who has won CUSA Freshman of the Week eight times and is the frontrunner for CUSA Freshman of the Year, is averaging 21.0 points during conference play, the most of any player. He has registered eight 20+ scor­ing performances in 11 league contests and is coming off a weekend where he scored 23 and 29 against WKU and Middle Tennessee.
 
Cottle is just as dangerous, having scored in double figures in 16 straight games and put up a season-high 30 versus WKU.
 
THE SERIES
Kennesaw State won the first ever meeting between the two programs back on Jan. 18 in Kennesaw, Georgia.  The Owls prevailed, 78-76.
 
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