Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Sean Newman Jr.’s three-point attempt in the final seconds did not fall as Louisiana Tech suffered a 63-61 defeat to Jacksonville State on Thursday night in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Down two with 11 seconds to go, LA Tech (13-5, 2-3 CUSA) had a chance to tie it or win it. Newman Jr. got a clean look at a potential game-winning three in front of the team’s bench, but the shot was off the mark and rebounded by Jax State (10-7, 2-2 CUSA) to seal it.
“I thought we played hard,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “I do not think we were locked in the whole night as far as the things we practiced. When you play other good teams, they take advantage when you make little mistakes. And we gave up 18 second-chance points which is way too many.
“We got them to miss shots, but we did not rebound the ball like we should have. Offensively, it was not there. We were not able to make shots at the rate we normally do. I thought we tried to tip in a lot of balls instead of securing them, shot faking, and going back up.”
The Bulldogs were dealt a blow before the game even started as the backcourt was limited in depth with Jordan Crawford and Al Green both being out with injuries. In order to try to hand the Gamecocks their first home loss of the season, Newman Jr. and Amaree Abram ended up playing the entire 40 minutes.
Even so, LA Tech was in control for much of the first half, going on an 8-0 run that was sparked by the bench help of Sean Elkinton who hit one of his three triples during the stretch that gave the ‘Dogs a 23-15 lead with 7:33 remaining.
The Gamecocks would slice their deficit down to two, but Kaden Cooper’s finger roll layup and Daniel Batcho’s putback gave the Bulldogs a 31-25 halftime advantage.
That lead quickly disappeared as Jax State came out on a 7-0 early in the second stanza to take a one-point lead. The half would feature five ties and seven lead changes.
Jax State went on another 7-0 run, getting all seven points from Jao Ituka, to take a five-point lead, its largest with 6:57 to play in the game. LA Tech quickly tied it though at 57-57 with a Newman Jr. three and a layup by Batcho.
The two teams traded two points before Koree Cotton drained a corner three-pointer to break another tie. The Gamecocks stretched their lead to four after a made free throw by Jaron Pierre Jr., their eighth free throw attempt of the game LA Tech’s two.
Kaden Cooper sliced that deficit in half with an alley-oop dunk at the 1:03 mark but that would be the Bulldogs last points in what ended as a two-point loss.
“At the end of the day, it is not the last possession that kills you,” said Hester about the final miss. “We got an open look. I felt like we were a little rushed with having 11 seconds. All in all, we got an open shot.”
LA Tech shot 42.6 percent from the field (26-61), led by Daniel Batcho who had a game-high 19 points. Elkinton and Abram each added 13.
Jax State shot 42.9 percent from the field (24-56), getting 14 points apiece from Pierre Jr. and Marcellus Brigham Jr.
