Staff writer
Louisiana Tech men’s basketball added more pieces to its roster this week – on the bench and on the floor.
Head coach Eric Konkol announced the hiring of Josten Crow as assistant coach, replacing Talvin Hester who left for Texas Tech.
Crow comes north to Ruston having been in Lafayette since 2015 with the Ragin’ Cajuns, first as a Director of Student-Athlete Development for one year then as an assistant coach for the last five seasons.
“I am humbled and blessed for the opportunity to join coach Konkol and the Bulldog family,” Crow. said “Louisiana Tech has an awesome history with a winning culture and I am eager to work alongside a great staff to focus on the continued development of our student-athletes on and off the court.”
Konkol also announced the addition of LaDamien Bradford, a Jonesboro-Hodge High School standout who played his freshman year at Texas A&M this past season.
The 6-foot-4, 223-pound guard saw action in 14 games, including appearances in eight SEC games. He ended up totaling four points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals on the season for the Aggies.
He played his high school basketball less than 30 minutes away from Ruston and was a two-time All-State pick and one of Louisiana’s more highly-recruited prospects in the class of 2019. “As my granny would say, ‘Sometimes the best place to be is home,'” Bradford said. “So I am coming home.”
SOFTBALL: After winning a 15-inning marathon on Tuesday night at Northwestern State, Louisiana Tech hopes to have plenty left in the tank against Southern Miss in a four-game series in Hattiesburg this weekend.
The Lady Techsters have momentum on their side, having won three straight and five of their last six. LA Tech (19-24, 7-5 C-USA) currently sits in third in the West Division with two conference series remaining.
USM (20-25, 2-10 C-USA) is headed in the other direction, having lost 12 straight.
Game one is set for 6 p.m. today. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. and the series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Links to the live stream, live audio and live stats can be found at LATechSports.com.
GOLF: Louisiana Tech had its worst round of the C-USA Championships on the final day, shooting +7 (295) as a team to finish at +10 for the tournament.
LA Tech was in fourth after day one, then slid to seventh on day two, only to finish in ninth place and have its season come to an end.
“We were very disappointed to finish the way we did,” said Tech head coach Matt Terry. “It’s definitely not the way we wanted to see our season end. I am eager to get back to Ruston and back to work. The 2021-22 season will be here quickly and that means it starts now.”
Individually, the Murphy brothers were the top two Bulldogs. Sam led the team with a -1 (t-13th), followed by Mac at +1 (t-23rd).