RUSTON – Louisiana Tech will be in search of its first road win as the Bulldogs travel to take on Jacksonville State Saturday inside Pete Mathews Coliseum.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 17 | 4 p.m. CT
Location: Pete Mathews Coliseum (Jacksonville, Ala.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (10-7, 3-3 CUSA)
The Bulldogs found themselves down 20 to the Blue Raiders just 14 minutes into the contest. Trailing 40-21 at half, LA Tech stormed back as DJ Dudley buried a contested three with 4.7 seconds remaining – the team's first and only made three of the night – to stun Middle Tennessee 59-58 on Wednesday night in the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
It was the second largest comeback for the 'Dogs in the last 50 years (the largest came in 2009 with a 22-point come-from-behind win against Centenary). This came just four days after LA Tech erased a 12-point deficit to defeat Delaware, 70-68, in overtime. The last time LA Tech won back-to-back games by two points or less was 2011 against ULM and Northwestern State.
 
LA Tech dominated the second half against MTSU much like it did against Delaware. The Bulldogs held the Blue Raiders to just 18 points and 28.6 percent shooting in the stanza. Both the 58 total points and 18 points in the second half were fewest of the season for Middle Tennessee. LA Tech currently ranks third in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 60.3 points per game (have held eight opponents to 60 points or less). They also rank fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (37.6).
 
The Bulldogs outscored the Blue Raiders, 38-26, in the paint. It marked the 12th time this season LA Tech has recorded 30+ paint points (are 9-3 in such games). They are currently averaging 34.4 paint points per game. They needed all the paint points since they went just 1-of-12 from three-point range.
 
DJ Dudley tallied a game-high 19 points against MTSU, scoring nine of LA Tech's last 13 points including the game-winner. The junior has now hit the go-ahead shot with less than 25 seconds left three times this season. Two of those have come in the final five seconds with the other being versus Indiana State. Dudley, who is averaging a team-high 12.8 points per game, has now led the Bulldogs in scor­ing in four of their six CUSA games. He has reached double-digit points in 11 of the last 13 contests (17+ points eight times).
 
Avery Thomas II was a beast on the boards for LA Tech, recording 15 of the Bulldogs' 32 rebounds which tied his career high. He also pulled down 15 boards earlier this season against Dallas Christian. In CUSA, the forward is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, which ranks fifth.
 
ABOUT JACKSONVILLE STATE (8-9, 3-3 CUSA)
Jacksonville State had an historic season a year ago, tying for second in the CUSA stand­ings while also advancing to the CUSA Tourna­ment finals. The Gamecocks earned a bid the National Invitation Tournament where they upset Georgia Tech before falling to UC Irvine.
 
Jax State was picked to finish seventh in the conference preseason poll. They are navigat­ing this season without Jaron Pierre Jr. (trans­ferred to SMU) who was the CUSA Player of the Year after ranking fourth in the country in scoring with an average of 21.6 points per contest.
 
The Gamecocks had a strong start to CUSA play this season, defeating WKU at home fol­lowed by a road win at Delaware. However, Jax State has lost three of its last four, including a 77-62 loss to Sam Houston Wednesday. Trail­ing almost the entire game, the Gamecocks pulled to within two with 8:40 to go but the Bearkats outscored them 22-9 the rest of the way.
 
Jax State owns one of the top defenses in CUSA. The Gamecocks rank top 35 in the country in both scoring defense (66.7) and field goal percentage defense (39.7). Through six league games, it has been the of­fense though that has carried them. Jax State is shooting 46.2 percent from the field and a league-best 37.8 percent from three.
 
With the loss of Pierre Jr., the Gamecocks went out and found a new scorer in Mostapha El Moutaouakkil. Named as one of the 10 players to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team, the transfer from UL-Lafayette is averaging 18.2 points per contest, which ranks second in the league.
The 6-foot-6 guard has scored in double fig­ures in 14 of their 17 games with five contests of 20+ points. He loves to get to the foul line, a place where he has attempted 136 free throws which ranks 10th in the country.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech and Jax State faced off twice in 2024 for the first time ever with the Gamecocks joining CUSA. The Bulldogs prevailed in both contests, winning 74-57 in Jacksonville behind a career-high 30 points from Isaiah Crawford and again in Ruston by a final score of 63-58 when LA Tech led for almost the entire game. The Gamecocks returned the favor last season, winning by two points in both contests.
 
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