By Malcolm Butler
Fifth-year graduate Will Allen saved some of his best for last.
The Bulldog forward got a start in place of Avery Thomas (illness) and made the most of it, scoring a career-high 13 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and hitting the game-winning shot with 8 seconds to play to lead Louisiana Tech to a 72-70 victory over Missouri State.
With the two teams tied at 70-70, Scooter Williams drove down the right side of the lane, but left his shot a little short. Allen grabbed the rebound and in one motion laid the ball in to give Tech the two-point lead with 8 seconds to play.
After a pair of timeouts by Missouri State, the Bears tried a lob pass backdoor that Kaden Cooper got a piece of, deflecting it off of the Bears player and out of bounds with 2.4 seconds to play.
Tech (16-12, 9-8) would miss two free throws in the final 2 seconds but a desperation three-quarters court shot was well off the mark as the Bulldogs picked up a huge win.
Allen, who entered the game with only two made three-pointers in his entire college career, connected on three of them and hit a pair of huge free throws down the stretch, plus the game-winning putback in the closing seconds.
“We didn’t have Avery (Thomas) and so I told Will and these guys that they had to play confidently,” said Tech head coach Talvin Hester. “I told Will a story about me in high school. I wasn’t a starter but I got an opportunity and I stepped up. He certainly stepped up tonight for us.”
Allen wasn’t the only Bulldog that had a season-best game as guard DJ Dudley poured in a Tech career-high 27 points, including a go-ahead offensive rebound and putback with 51 seconds to play that gave the home team a 70-68 lead.
Dudley hit 10-of-19 field goals, including three three-pointers, while playing 38 minutes.
Center Mel Martinez also had a career-best outing, recording seven of the Bulldogs 11 blocked shots. The seven blocks were the most by a player in any Conference USA game this season.
Tech jumped out to an early 15-4 lead before Missouri State fought back and eventually took a 39-38 lead into the halftime locker room. The game featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes.
With the victory, Tech remains in a three-way tie for fourth place with Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State, one game behind WKU in third place.
“Tonight’s win was huge because one win or one loss moves you a lot of places within the standings,” said Hester. “We just wanted to protect our home court and put ourselves in better position within the seedings for the conference tournament. We did that tonight, and now we have another one Saturday.”
Keith Palek scored a season-high 29 points for the Bears.
Tech will host FIU Saturday at 2 p.m. in the home finale for the Bulldogs.
