Courtesy of LA Tech Athletics
Louisiana Tech had its winning streaks snapped on Wednesday night, falling by a final score of 81-76 to WKU inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
Coming into the contest having won six straight and being undefeated at home, LA Tech (16-7, 6-2 CUSA) had issues navigating foul trouble plus the absence of two regular starters in Tahlik Chavez and Tyler Henry.
“We have to be better defensively,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “We gave up 81 points at home. We scored 76, enough to win a game. To give up 81 points at home is disappointing. A lot of that coming from the free throw line. Our effort to offensive rebound and get second-chance points was not what it should have been with a lineup as big as we had. The other thing is we have to keep Isaiah and Batcho on the floor, keep them out of foul trouble
The top two scorers this season for the Bulldogs – Isaiah Crawford and Daniel Batcho – were only able to combine for 19 points and 14 rebounds. They also combined for 10 fouls as they both fouled out.
With them in the lineup to start, things were going great for the ‘Dogs on both ends of the floor.
“It was huge. Isaiah picked up his third early in the second half, sat him for a long time,” said Hester. “When he comes back on the court, we take the lead. But he could not play as aggressive as he wanted to play. When he was on the floor, he was a plus-13.”
Dravon Mangum was delivering the offense, knocking down four three-pointers in the first 7-plus minutes to give the home team a 21-9 advantage.
LA Tech was suffocating on defense to start as well, holding the top scoring offense in the conference in WKU (16-7, 5-4 CUSA) to just 22 percent shooting through the first 10 minutes of the first half. However, Crawford and Batcho would have to sit with two fouls each for much of the remaining stanza.
The Hilltoppers took advantage, ending the half making nine of their last 13 field goal attempts which included a 12-0 run, helping the visitors take a 40-37 lead into the locker room.
Crawford was quickly whistled for his third foul less than a minute into the second half, forcing him back to the bench. Meanwhile, WKU continued to extend its lead, building as much as a 53-43 advantage with 15:21 to play in the game.
Crawford came back in soon thereafter and sparked an 11-0 run to give the Bulldogs a 1-point edge. The lead would seesaw back and forth for the next five minutes. However, at the fourth tie of the contest, 64-64, the Hilltoppers used a 7-0 burst to pull back in front.
LA Tech whittled the deficit down to three on multiple occasions with the help of Jordan Crawford scoring the last five points for the ‘Dogs. The home team would ultimately have one last chance to tie it, down three with 28 seconds to go. However, Batcho was called for his fifth foul, and the Hilltoppers put the game away from the free throw line where they went 23-of-28 on the night.
Mangum (23) and Jordan Crawford (25) each tallied career highs in points while Isaiah Crawford added 13. Don McHenry led WKU with 20.
