RUSTON – Louisiana Tech staged yet another comeback Friday afternoon, erasing a 12-point deficit in the second half to defeat Kennesaw State 82-76 inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
 
LA Tech (11-8, 4-4 CUSA) outscored KSU (12-8, 4-5 CUSA) 46-31 after the break, riding a combined 48-point performance from Scooter Williams and DJ Dudley.
 
Williams poured in a game-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, adding four rebounds and six drawn fouls (went 7-of-9 from the free-throw line) while Dudley, despite missing the last 11 minutes of the contest due to injury, contributed 20 points to help anchor the Bulldog backcourt.
 
LA Tech did not start out slowly, as has been the case here recently.  In fact, the Bulldogs held a 24-22 advantage 11 minutes into the game.  However, a stretch of turnovers allowed the Owls to go on a 12-2 run to build some cushion and ultimately take a 45-36 lead into the locker room.
 
KSU, which came in averaging 88 points per game, showed its offensive prowess throughout the first stanza by making 16 of its 24 field goal attempts.  After Frankquon Sherman tacked on a layup at the 19:07 mark of the second half, KSU had built its largest lead at 48-36. 
 
Then came the Dudley-Williams show. 
 
The duo combined for LA Tech's first 17 points of the stanza, needing less than four minutes to do it, as the scoring pulled the Bulldogs to within one at 54-53.  The game would get knotted up for the fifth time at 60-all, then the home team proceeded to go on a 7-1 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Williams. 
 
While KSU's offense was shut down in the second half (shot 24.1 percent), the Owls were adding to the scoreboard by getting to the foul line.  They made five straight, slicing their deficit down to one with 6:51 to play, but AJ Bates' converted layup and a made free throw by Avery Thomas II.
 
The Owls' lone three-pointer of the second half got their deficit back to one again at 70-69 at the 5:20 mark, but Thomas II countered with a three of his own in front of the team bench to start a 9-1 run that sealed the victory.
 
LA Tech had one of its best offensive performances of the season, shooting 52.7 percent from the field (29-of-55) and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-16).  Along with the scoring of Williams and Dudley, Bates and Thomas II each added 10 points apiece.
 
KSU was led by Sherman who had 20 points.  Leading scorer RJ Johnson, who had scored 30-plus points in each of the last two games, was held to just one point.
 
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
 
On the win…
"I do not like doing it like this, but I will take it.  We have talked about getting off to a better start.  Maybe I am learning that this team needs time.  We are steadily fighting to understand why we get off to slow starts.  I did not think we started that slow in this one, but at the end of the first half we turned the ball over quite a bit and gave [Kennesaw State] some easy baskets and some cushion.  We took care of the ball in the second half, and we guarded the ball.  We were getting driven on in the first half.  We also rebounded and were able to make shots."
 
On Scooter Williams' performance…
"He had an unbelievable week of practice.  He was hitting everything.  It looked exactly like it did in practice.  He was making shots.  To his credit, it started by him getting some steals on the defensive end.  After that, I thought it was my job to get the ball in his hands.  He is a big, strong guard.  I wanted to call as many plays for him as much as I could."
 
On winning the battle of the boards…
"My coach who had the scout kept telling me we might have to play big.  We knew rebounding was going to be quite the task.  The best thing [Kennesaw State] does is get offensive rebounds.  I thought we guarded well in transition after the first half.  Then, we wanted to contest all shots and know where RJ Johnson was always."
 
Guard Scooter Williams
 
On his performance…
"It started in practice.  I had a great week of practice.  I showed up, competed, came in locked in."
 
Forward Avery Thomas II
 
On adjustments in the second half…
"We just keep playing hard, trying to wear people down.  We feel like we are well conditioned and can still be fresh towards the end."
 
NOTABLES

• LA Tech picked up its first ever win over Kennesaw State and now trails the all-time series, 1-2.  The Bulldogs overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to pull out the win.  Each of the last three games have been the result of coming back from at least 12 points down (Delaware, Middle Tennessee).  Prior to this season, LA Tech had three such wins in the previous five years.
• The Bulldogs improved to 4-4 in conference play, putting them in a three-way tie for fifth.
• LA Tech improved to 11-1 at home this season.  The Bulldogs have won 11+ home games in 14 of the last 15 seasons.
• The 82 points scored by the Bulldogs are the most by LA Tech during league action this season.
• LA Tech improved to 90-22 all-time against CUSA opponents at home.
• The Bulldogs shot 52.7 percent from the field, eclipsing 50 percent for the seventh time this season.
• LA Tech made 8 of its 12 three-point attempts, shooting a season-high 50.0 percent from deep this season.
• LA Tech outscored Kennesaw State, 32-24, in the paint.  The Bulldogs have scored 30+ paint points in 14 of their 19 games, including five of the last six.
• LA Tech outrebounded Kennesaw State, 34-30.  It was just the third time this season a team has outrebounded the Owls, who came into the game ranked second in the nation in rebounds per game.
• Scooter Williams posted a season-high 28 points (most scored by a Bulldog this season).  It marked the third time this season he has led the Bulldogs in scoring.  It was also his second 20+ scoring performance of the season.
• Scooter Williams became the fourth Bulldog this season to make 10 field goals in a single game (Kaden Cooper, DJ Dudley, and AJ Bates).
• DJ Dudley registered 20 points, marking his third 20+ scoring performance.  The junior has scored 17+ points in five straight games.
• DJ Dudley went 4-of-6 from downtown, extending his streak of games with at least one made three-pointer to 14.
• AJ Bates registered a game-high eight assists, giving him 103 on the season.  It marked the sixth time this season the sophomore has dished out at least eight dimes in a single game.
• Melian Martinez tallied a season-tying three blocks.  The center has now recorded multiple rejections in five of the last six games.

UP NEXT
LA Tech will head to El Paso, Texas on Wednesday, Jan. 28 to battle the UTEP Miners.  Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
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