RUSTON – Louisiana Tech looks to sweep its road trip as the Bulldogs head to Miami to face FIU on Saturday afternoon inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 14 | 1 p.m. CT
Location: Ocean Bank Convocation Center (Miami, Fla.)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LA Tech Sports Network | LA Tech Athletics app
 
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (14-10, 7-6 CUSA)
LA Tech, which is tied for fourth in the league standings, outlasted Missouri State 79-78 in a thrilling double overtime victory on Thursday at Great Southern Bank Arena. The Bulldogs, which trailed by as much as 12 in the first half, ultimately forced overtime with a made floater by AJ Bates with 0.8 seconds left in regulation.
 
The Bulldogs were stellar on defense, holding the Bears to 34.7 percent shooting from the field (their second lowest of the season). LA Tech registered nine steals and a season-high 12 blocks (tied for the third most in a single game in program history). The Bulldogs are currently averaging 4.7 rejections per game, which ranks 32nd in the country.
 
LA Tech pulled down 42 rebounds, marking the 12th time this season with 40+ boards. The Bulldogs have registered 40+ rebounds in four of the last five games, averaging 41.0 per game during that stretch. In all five, they have recorded 13+ offensive rebounds (aver­aging 16.2). The team ranks 18th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (13.67).
 
Avery Thomas II registered a season-high 19 points while playing a career-high 48 minutes (most minutes by a Bulldog since Feb. 5, 2004, when three Bulldogs played 48+ minutes in a double overtime win against Fresno State). He went 4-of-5 from deep, tying his season high for made threes. He also pulled down nine rebounds and currently ranks third in CUSA (league games only) with an average of 7.9 boards.
 
Kaden Cooper had another strong performance, recording his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and a team-high 13 rebounds at MSU. Since returning to action the last two games, the junior is averaging 16.5 points, 15.5 boards, and 2.5 steals per game.
 
AJ Bates dished out six assists against the Bears, marking the 15th time this season with at least five dimes. The sophomore has done so in six straight games and currently ranks top 40 in the nation in both total assists (137) and assists per game (5.5). He is 18 assists shy of reaching 200 for his career, which would make him the 25th Bulldog in program history to reach this milestone. He also ranks first in the league this season in assist/turnover ratio (2.61).
 
Scooter Williams extended his streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to six with 15 points versus Missouri State. During this stretch, he is averaging 17.7 points while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. As the sixth man for the Bulldogs, he is averaging 11.8 points during conference action.
 
ABOUT FIU (11-13, 4-9 CUSA)
FIU is in a two-way tie for 10th in the league standings following its 68-66 loss at home to Delaware on Thursday. The Panthers went on a furious 18-4 run to tie the game up with sev­en seconds left, but the Blue Hens connected on a tip-in at the buzzer to escape with a win.
 
The Panthers are known for their frenetic, which leads to plenty of offense. FIU is averag­ing 81.8 points per game this season, having scored 80+ points 13 times. During league play, they are averaging 76.9 points which ranks third. Helping to aid this scoring is the defense which is averaging 9.7 steals (ranks 10th in the country) which trans­lates to an average of 14.88 fastbreak points per contest.
 
Leading the charge on offense is senior wing Corey Stephenson, a transfer from Cal State Bakersfield. He is averaging 17.8 points per game this season, which ranks as the third most in CUSA.
 
During league play, his average is at 17.5 points which also ranks third. He had post­ed double-digit points in 22 straight games before having that streak snapped this past Thursday against Delaware when he was held to a season-low seven points. He recently had a streak of three games with 20+ points, including a season-high 34 in an overtime victo­ry against Middle Tennessee.
 
THE SERIES
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus FIU, 15-8. The Bulldogs and Panthers were league foes in the Sun Belt Conference for three seasons (1998-01) before becoming league opponents again in 2013 when the two programs joined Confer­ence USA.
 
Since becoming CUSA foes, LA Tech holds a 12-5 advantage having won nine of the last 10 meetings including six straight.
 
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