Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
The Louisiana Tech Men’s Basketball team plays its final game before Christmas break, taking on Seattle U tonight inside the Redhawk Center.
The contest will tip-off at 9 p.m. CT (7 p.m. PT) and can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network on 107.5 FM with the pregame show starting at 8:30 p.m. CT with Malcolm Butler.
After trailing by as much as 13 early in the second half at Saint Louis, LA Tech (9-3) made a comeback taking a 6-point lead with less than a minute to go. However, the Billikens make a furious rally late and hit a game-winning three at the buzzer to win, 75-74.
The Bulldogs went the entire 40 minutes without committing a turnover versus the Billikens. According to CBS Sports, LA Tech became just the fourth DI men’s basketball team since the 1996-97 season — and the first since 2009 — to finish a game with zero turnovers committed.
Daniel Batcho scored a season-high 18 points while pulling down 13 rebounds, marking his fifth double-double of the season which is tied for the 15th most in the country. He also registered three blocks to give him 20 on the season. The forward now has three games this season with at least 10 points, 10 boards, and three blocks, which is tied for third most of any player in college basketball.
LA Tech pulled down 12 more offensive rebounds at Saint Louis, the ninth time this season with double-digit offensive boards. As a result, they scored 13 second-chance points versus the Billikens. The Bulldogs are averaging 13.6 second-chance points per game, having outscored their opponents in that category, 163-94.
Seattle U (6-5) had as much as a 16-point advantage over Washington this past Sunday, but the Redhawks ended up falling in double overtime, 100-99, to the Huskies.
It was yet another close loss suffered by SU this season. While Seattle U has collected six victories, all five of its losses have been by six points or less.
Cameron Tyson is the man that makes the Redhawks go offensively, averaging 17.9 points per game. He was a First Team All-WAC selection after pacing SU in scoring last season as well. He has scored 20+ points in five of his last six games, including a season-high 28 against UC San Diego. Over his last six games, he has hit 25 three-pointers. He averages 3.50 made threes per game, which ranks 12th in the country.
Despite surrendering 100 points to Washington in double OT, the Redhawks are allowing just 65.5 points per game by their opponents. They are one of the best at guarding the three-point line as opponents are shooting just 29.6 percent. No team has made double-digit three-pointers against them this season.
LA Tech leads the all-time series over Seattle U, 3-1. The two programs faced off against one another on two occasions in regular season tournaments, playing in the Great Alaskan Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska in 2008 and again in the 2k Sports Classic in Irvine, California in 2010.
The Bulldogs and Redhawks squared off twice in 2012-13 as foes in the Western Athletic Conference, SU’s first season in the league and LA Tech’s last season in the league. The ‘Dogs won both of those meetings and have won three straight in the series.
