Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech packed its defense again as the Bulldogs pulled off another conference road win, defeating UTEP by a final score of 65-59 on Thursday night inside the Don Haskins Center.
Neither team could separate from the other the entire game. LA Tech (19-8, 9-3 CUSA) had the lead for 16 minutes and 23 seconds while UTEP (13-14, 4-8 CUSA) held the advantage for 16 minutes and 31 seconds.
“We did not give up,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “We kept fighting. Even when it looked grim and looked like we could not get anything to work, we stayed true to who we are … that is defense. We kept fighting to get stops. We had some huge guys step up for us.”
In the midst of all of it was nine ties and 18 lead changes. One of those lead changes was when the Miners made one of their eight three-pointers to go up 31-29 at halftime.
Outside of Tahlik Chavez and Isaiah Crawford scoring the Bulldogs first 19 points of the game, not much else was going in the basket for the road team including zero free throws on zero free throw attempts.
It was a one-possession game in the second half all the way up to 1:54 remaining in the game when Chavez pulled down one of his career-high nine rebounds and got the putback to go to give the ‘Dogs a 59-55 edge.
“The ball was not going in so I figured if we were going to win it would have to be on the defensive end,” said Hester. “When we got the lead, I just started thinking about how we can run clock, but UTEP takes you out of moving the ball around. I started calling sets not to turn the ball over. We started getting fouled, getting to the free throw line, and making free throws.”
The Miners responded with a layup in the paint to get back to within two points and even had a fastbreak opportunity to tie or take the lead after forcing their 18th turnover of the game. However, Chavez raced down and got the steal, which turned into a bucket by Daniel Batcho to make it 61-57.
Defensive stands and four straight free throws made by Sean Newman Jr. and Chavez secured the win.
Chavez finished with a game-high 20 points, going 4-of-9 from downtown. Crawford was steady as well, tallying 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Batcho, making his return after missing the last two games, registered 11 points, five boards, and five blocks. Another Bulldog returning to the court, Newman Jr., dished out six assists.
UTEP was held to 38.7 percent shooting from the field, getting a team-high 16 points off the bench from Derick Hamilton.
With the win, Tech remains in a two-way tie for first place in the CUSA standings with Sam Houston.
The Bulldogs will play at New Mexico State Saturday at 8 p.m.
