Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech starts the back half of Conference USA play on tonight when they play at Liberty with tipoff set for 7 p.m. CT at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg. The Bulldogs and Flames are part of a six-way tie for third in the league standings.
The contest can be heard on the LA Tech Sports Network.
After dropping four of its first six league games, LA Tech (16-6, 5-4) took advantage of a three-game home stand by winning all three including a 66-61 overtime victory against Sam Houston this past Saturday. After forcing OT with a late 7-0 run, the ‘Dogs used another 7-0 in the extra frame to pull out the win. The team is 7-3 in OT games under head coach Talvin Hester.
The Bulldogs had arguably their best defensive performance of the season, holding the best three-point shooting team in the league to 30.4 percent from beyond the arc. After going down six with 14:27 left in the second half, LA Tech held Sam Houston to just two made fields the remainder of the stanza. Defensively, the Bulldogs also registered nine steals and seven blocks, both being the most in a CUSA game for LA Tech this season.
Liberty (17-5, 5-4) has 17 wins under its belt this season, most of any team in Conference USA. That win total was spearheaded by a 12-1 non-conference record which included victories over UL-Lafayette, Kansas State, and McNeese State to win the Paradise Jam.
The Flames got off to a 2-3 start in CUSA play but reeled off three straight wins against New Mexico State, FIU, and Kennesaw State to climb the standings before having a 72-61 loss at league-leader Jacksonville State this past Saturday.
Liberty clocks in as having the best offensive in CUSA, ranking top 35 in the country in both field goal percentage (49.3) and three-point field goal percentage (37.7). In league play only, they rank top two on both shooting categories as well as in three-pointers made per game (9.1) and assists per game (14.9). The Flames have made 10+ three-pointers in 14 games this season including four of their last five.
LA Tech leads the all-time series versus Liberty, 2-1. In the first matchup in Ruston last season, the Bulldogs pulled out an 80-76 overtime win. Then when the two met in Lynchburg, Metheny hit a game-winning three with two seconds left to give the Flames a 65-62.
And about four weeks ago, LA Tech needed to put up 52 second-half points to come back and win in Ruston, 79-74. Batcho and Newman Jr. combined for 51 points in leading the Bulldogs to victory.
