Bulldogs 85, Kent State 75 (Ruston)
A new-look Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team gave Bulldog fans plenty to cheer about Monday night.
Braylon Wenger poured in a game-high 28 points, and Louisiana Tech shot 52 percent from the field on its way to an 85-75 victory over Kent State in the season opener for both teams before 1,995 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center.
The victory came in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge and marked a successful debut for a Bulldog squad featuring 12 newcomers on head coach Talvin Hester’s 13-man roster.
Wenger, one of those newcomers, was the offensive star, connecting on 8 of 12 field goals, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, while adding five rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
“Shooting is what he does,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “We recruited him to make shots. He was fantastic on that end. I was really proud of his defense tonight, in particular. As for Jay (Tyler), a lot of guys come in and in their mind their job is to score. I have been trying to get him to distribute, which he did great with tonight. Once they took that away from him, he hit some big shots.”
He was one of four Bulldogs to score in double figures as Jaylen Fenner and Ethan Blackmon added 13 points each, while Jay Tyler chipped in 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
Blackmon also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to record a double-double in his Bulldog debut, while Fenner, Tech’s lone returning player from last season, added eight boards.
Louisiana Tech (1-0) wasted little time taking control, scoring the game’s first eight points behind 3-pointers from Wenger and Tyler and a layup by Iyran Francis Jr.
The Bulldogs extended their advantage to 20-8 on Tyler’s second 3-pointer with 14:18 remaining in the opening half.
Kent State (0-1) trimmed the deficit to five points at 29-24 with 7:10 remaining, but Tech responded with an 8-0 run capped by a Fenner layup to push its lead to 37-24.
The Bulldogs carried a 41-32 advantage into the halftime locker room after shooting a sizzling 57.1 percent (16 of 28) from the field during the opening 20 minutes.
Kent State opened the second half with five straight points to cut Tech’s lead to four, but the Bulldogs answered with a 15-4 run to build a 56-41 advantage with 15:42 remaining.
Wenger continued his hot shooting, knocking down another 3-pointer to give Tech a 59-43 lead with 14:41 remaining.
The Bulldogs eventually built their largest advantage at 71-52 with 6:44 to play following a Deven Bates putback.
Kent State refused to go away, trimming the deficit to nine points at 78-69 with 2:14 remaining, but Wenger scored seven points down the stretch to help seal the victory.
Tech finished 28 of 54 from the field, including 8 of 22 from beyond the arc, while recording 19 assists on its 28 made baskets.
The Bulldogs also held Kent State to 36.5 percent shooting, including just 7 of 28 from 3-point range.
Christian Henry led the Golden Flashes with 17 points off the bench, while Dhani Miller added 15 points and Latif Diouf contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Kent State owned a 45-40 rebounding advantage, including 23 offensive boards that led to 25 second-chance points, but Tech’s superior shooting proved to be the difference.
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LA Tech 61, Toledo 57 (Toledo, Ohio)
Louisiana Tech used a strong fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Toledo 61-57 Monday night in the season opener for both teams at Savage Arena.
The Lady Techsters (1-0) outscored the Rockets 21-14 in the final quarter, shooting 72.7% from the field and closing the game with a 7-0 run to give head coach Brooke Stoehr her 250th career victory.
Jordan Marshall led Louisiana Tech with a game-high 14 points and 11 rebounds, recording her first double-double of the season. Brittani Wells added 11 points and a game-high six assists in her Lady Techsters debut, while Alana Obianozie contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty as long as it is gritty, and this group was gritty tonight,” Stoehr said. “I thought we defended, rebounded, and took care of the ball really well in the first half. We lost our minds a bit in the third quarter, we took too many bad shots that led to transition.”
Playing before 3,844 fans as part of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, Louisiana Tech jumped out to an early lead behind a 3-pointer from Alexia Weaver. Freshman E’Marriha Johnson connected on a 3-pointer on her first collegiate shot attempt, helping the Lady Techsters battle to a 14-14 tie after one quarter.
Johnson continued her strong debut in the second quarter, scoring four consecutive points to give Louisiana Tech a two-point advantage. Marshall later added a layup to help the Lady Techsters build an eight-point lead before taking a 30-24 advantage into halftime.
Johnson led Louisiana Tech with nine first-half points on 4-of-7 shooting, while the Lady Techsters held Toledo to 31% shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
However, the Rockets seized momentum in the third quarter, using a 12-2 run to take their first lead since the opening period. Toledo eventually stretched its advantage to 43-38 before an Obianozie layup cut the deficit to 43-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Louisiana Tech committed seven turnovers and was outscored 19-10 in the third period.
The Rockets pushed their lead to six points early in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Techsters responded behind their inside game, scoring 14 points in the paint during the final 10 minutes.
Louisiana Tech eventually regained the lead with 2:20 remaining and made its final four field goal attempts while holding Toledo to just one basket on its final seven shots.
Obianozie converted two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to help seal the victory.
“I can’t say enough about that fourth quarter toughness,” Stoehr said. “We learned something about our group tonight. This is a hard game to have first and we are going to look back on this win and see that this game is going to make us better. Really proud of our groups fight and resilience.”
Louisiana Tech held Toledo to 22.6% shooting from 3-point range as the Rockets connected on just 7 of 31 attempts.
The Lady Techsters overcame struggles at the free-throw line, making just 9 of 19 attempts (47.4%).
Obianozie finished 4 of 5 from the field in her Louisiana Tech debut, while Johnson provided an early spark in her first collegiate game.
Louisiana Tech will return to Ruston for its home opener Wednesday against Texas A&M-Texarkana. Tipoff for the Education Day game is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.
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Tigers 89, Northern Illinois 87
Isaiah Miranda scored 29 points on 10-of-12 shooting as Grambling State opened its season with an 89-87 victory over Northern Illinois on Monday at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
The game was part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon.
Dwayne Pierce added 19 points and eight assists for the Tigers (1-0), who shot 64% from the field and outscored the Huskies 48-28 in the paint.
Miranda made four of five 3-point attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots. Isaiah Howard scored 13 points off the bench, Mekhi Fitts added 12 on 4-of-4 shooting, and Antoine Shannon finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Northern Illinois (0-1) got 15 points from Trevor Polite, 13 from Nino Carter-Smith and 12 from David Douglas Jr. Max Weisbrod added 11 points and eight assists. The Huskies made 14 of 31 attempts from 3-point range.
Grambling State led 43-36 at halftime after shooting 57% from the field in the first half. Miranda scored 20 of his 29 points before the break, including a 3-pointer in the final minute.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 12 points twice in the second half, taking a 62-50 advantage on Brandon Hardy’s layup and a 65-53 lead on a Howard layup.
Northern Illinois answered, cutting the deficit to 67-65 on Douglas’ 3-pointer with 7:06 remaining.
The Huskies pulled within 78-77 on a Weisbrod 3-pointer with 3:13 left. Grambling State responded with two Fitts free throws, a Pierce jumper and a Pierce dunk to take an 85-79 lead with 1:41 remaining.
Douglas connected on another 3-pointer to make it 85-82 before Fitts’ layup pushed the Tigers’ lead to 87-82 with 40 seconds left.
Bennett Basich converted a three-point play to trim the deficit to 87-85 with 33 seconds remaining. Pierce made one of two free throws with nine seconds left, and Carter-Smith sank two free throws with six seconds remaining to pull Northern Illinois within 88-87.
Chancellor Perkins made one of two free throws with four seconds left to restore Grambling State’s two-point lead. Weisbrod missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, and Shannon grabbed the rebound to seal the victory.
Grambling State made 20 of 29 free throws and outscored Northern Illinois 37-30 in bench points. The Tigers also held a 28-27 rebounding advantage, while the Huskies recorded seven steals to Grambling State’s four.
