Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
WKU 64, Bulldogs 63 (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
Louisiana Tech was 5.4 seconds away from getting a road sweep, but a last-second layup by WKU resulted in a heartbreaking 64-63 loss for the Bulldogs on Saturday night inside E.A. Diddle Arena.
The matchup featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes. The 15th lead change was when Daniel Batcho calmly sank two clutch free throws to give LA Tech (18-10, 7-8 CUSA) a 63-62 lead with just over five ticks on the clock.
Following a timeout by WKU (15-12, 6-8 CUSA), Braxton Bayless split the Bulldog’s full-court defense down the middle of the floor and managed to get all the way to the rim for the game-winning layup.
“We did not execute at all,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “We just let them drive right by us. Nobody took the initiative to guard the ball. Everybody thought it was somebody else’s job. Nobody was in the position they were supposed to be in and they got all the way to the rim.
“The sad part is we had a timeout to call the play. Everybody knew their assignment in the huddle. We work on this every day. It should have taken him at least four seconds to get across half court let alone get all the way to the rim.”
Both teams could barely score in the first half, a 20-minute stretch that resulted in the Hilltoppers owning a 24-19 lead at the midway point.
“I knew we would get it going offensively at some point,” said Hester. “We just had to settle down. WKU had its pressure ramped up early in the game. They had to account for Batcho at the rim which allowed us to get open shots to the point where we shot a pretty good percentage.
“Amaree Abram hit some big shots and we made our free throws. But, this is a testament to the game being 40 minutes long. Not 39 minutes and 55 seconds. I am disappointed in the way this one ended. I think it goes back to maturity and being locked into the moment.”
It was a stretch by AJ Bates in the second half that gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the 8:55 mark in the first half. The freshman scored nine straight points for LA Tech, resulting in a 45-44 advantage with 8:11 remaining in the contest.
WKU would stretch its lead back out to four with a little over two minutes to go, but two free throws by Batcho were followed by a three-pointer from the wing by Bates to make it 58-57 Bulldogs.
The Hilltoppers’ Don McHenry countered with an old-fashioned three-point play on their end, but another big three-pointer came for LA Tech. This one by Abram who buried a triple, once again giving the ‘Dogs a one-point edge and only 37 seconds remaining.
Another swing occurred on the following possession with Bayless sinking two free throws after getting fouled. Following a timeout by head coach Hester, Bates found Batcho down low and the power forward was mauled, giving him two free throws which he sank but the Hilltoppers would escape on a made layup just before the buzzer.
LA Tech shot just 37.2 percent from the field (16-of-43) but were outstanding from the free throw line, making 23 of its 25 attempts. Despite foul trouble, Abram finished with a team-high 21 points while Bates added 14 off the bench and Batcho tacked on 10.
WKU shot 45.6 percent from the field (26-of-57) and were anchored by Bayless who had a game-high 27 points.
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WKU 78, Lady Techsters 73 (Ruston)
Paris Bradley scored 26 of her game-high 29 points in the second half, but Louisiana Tech would fall 78-73 to WKU on Senior Day inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech (13-13, 6-9 CUSA) gave up six points to WKU (19-7, 10-4) early on fastbreaks but quickly settled in. Bradley’s only points of the first half came on a three-ball to put the Lady Techsters up 11-6 heading into the media timeout. The two teams would finish the first quarter even with a majority of Tech’s points coming from free throws.
Jordan Marshall made it 23-16 to start the second with a putback layup 20 seconds in. The Lady Toppers’ Alexis Mead accounted for nine of the visitor’s 11 points in the second with three triples to pull within one at 28-27. LA Tech used a 6-0 run to close the half and take a 34-27 advantage into the locker room.
Bradley found her groove towards the end of the third. After WKU pulled within one, the freshman hit her third 3-pointer to put Tech back up by four with a minute and a half to go in the third. Bradley would get through the Lady Topper defense twice for layups, but WKU would hit one with three seconds remaining to cut the Techster lead to 49-47.
The 5-9 guard continued to shine in the fourth with 16 points in the stanza. A layup by Bradley with 3:46 to go put LA Tech up 65-59. However, WKU used a 15-3 run over the next two minutes to take the lead and would hold on the rest of the game.
Louisiana Tech finished 23-58 from the field, 7-22 from behind the arc, and 20-24 from the charity stripe. Along with Bradley, three other Lady Techsters finished in double figures. Isla Airey had 13 points with six rebounds. Jianna Morris and Marshall had 10 points apiece. Marshall finished with 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season.
WKU shot 29-75 overall, 8-30 from deep, and 12-14 from the line. Josie Gilvin led the way with a 19-point 10 rebound double-double. Alexis Mead and Acacia Hayes had 18 apiece.
