Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech plays its final home game of the calendar year tonight when they host Southeastern inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court. The Lions will be the sixth and final in-state opponent the Bulldogs will face this season.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be heard on KXKZ 107.5 FM with Malcolm Butler and Jack Thigpen providing a call of the action.
LA Tech (8-2) built as much as a 21-point lead over long-time rival UL-Lafayette and ended up holding on for a 72-67 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns to remain undefeated at home. The Bulldogs took a 42-23 lead into halftime but had to withstand a pair of rallies by ULL to notch their third straight victory and their eighth win in the last nine games.
Tahlik Chavez shined in the win over the Cajuns, scoring a season-high 30 points which is the most by a Bulldog this season and the second most by a player in CUSA. He went 9-of-13 from the field, knocking down four of LA Tech’s six three-pointers, while becoming the 50th Bulldog in program history to register a 30-point game. He is now averaging 11.7 points per game, third most on the team. After averaging 8.0 points through the first four games, he is averaging 14.2 points through the last six.
Daniel Batcho has played eight games for LA Tech since becoming eligible, and in every game he has scored in double figures (had 14 points against ULL). The forward is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points to go along with 10.5 rebounds per game. He is currently one of only 15 players in the country averaging a double-double (has four double-doubles total).
With starting point guard Sean Newman Jr. having been sidelined the past three games, Isaiah Crawford has stepped up from an assist standpoint. He had seven dimes against Nicholls and six more versus ULL, helping to give up 202 for his career. In doing so, became the 23rd player in program history to eclipse 200 career assists.
The Bulldogs have become regulars at the free throw line this season. They have shot at least 20 free throws in each of the last nine games and have eclipsed 30 free throw attempts in their last two (shot 36 at Stephen F. Austin and 37 against UL-Lafayette). They currently rank 32nd in the country in free throw attempts per game at 24.7 and 51st in the nation in free throws made per game at 16.9.
Southeastern (2-7) heads to Ruston having lost two straight and seven of its last eight. The Lions have lived on the road, playing seven of their nine games away from home. Their most recent game was a 69-44 loss at Southern, which came about a week after narrowly falling to LSU, 73-66.
The Lions’ NET strength of schedule is currently ranked 25th in the country, having faced three Power 5 teams in Auburn, BYU, and LSU. They also took part in the Emerald Coast Classic where they suffered three losses, including two to Santa Clara and Western Michigan by a total of three points.
SLU, which was picked to finish first in the Southland Conference preseason poll, is led offensively by Roger McFarlane who is averaging 13.8 points per game, including a season-high 24 at Auburn. He has made 16 of the team’s 60 three-point attempts this season.
Also averaging double-digit points is Nick Caldwell at 12.4 points per game. McFarlane and Caldwell also anchor the Lions in rebounding at 5.9 and 5.2 boards per game, respectively.
Southeastern ranks 93rd in the country in steals per game at 7.9. They have tallied at least seven steals in five of their nine games, including a season-high 19 against Southern (N.O.). They also had 13 versus Western Michigan.
LA Tech leads the all-time series with Southeastern, 44-18. The two programs were regulars on their basketball schedules from 1941 to 1972, playing one another at least twice every season as conference foes in the Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference (LIC) and Gulf States Conference (GSC).
Since then, the in-state programs have only played each other six times with the last meeting coming in a 78-69 win for LA Tech in 2020. The Bulldogs have had an overwhelming advantage in the series, winning 18 of the last 19 meetings.
