Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
It took two hours and 23 minutes, but as the final horn blew Louisiana Tech came out on top, defeating Stephen F. Austin by a final score of 56-49 on Tuesday night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum.
At times, it felt more like a football game than a basketball game. And a defensive one at that, pitting two of the top defensive teams in the country against one another.
“We always talk about packing our defense and I thought we brought it tonight,” said Tech head coach Talvin Hester. “We were unbelievable guarding the ball, unbelievable at the rim. I am so proud of our guys.”
LA Tech’s (7-2) defense was the one that prevailed, holding SFA (5-4) to just 21.9 percent shooting (14-of-64) and only one made three-pointer. But free throws played a huge role in the final outcome as there were a combined 51 fouls called, resulting in a combined 68 free throw attempts.
The first breakaway by the Bulldogs came in the first half when they went on an 11-0 run to take a 19-10 lead with seven minutes to go in the stanza. LA Tech got up by as much as 11, but SFA’s lone three-pointer went down in the final minute to make it a 29-21 game at halftime.
“Transition points was the key to this game,” said Hester. “Stephen F. Austin is unbelievable in halfcourt defense, but we felt like in transition is when we could score on them. We were jogging the ball up too much into the teeth of their defense. That made it hard. When we got it moving, started advancing the ball, we started to get easier shots.”
The Lumberjacks could only muster five made field goals in the entire second half. But free throws, free throws, and more free throws kept the home team in the contest. Four straight makes at the charity stripe cut their deficit down to 36-32 with 13:56 left.
LA Tech kept SFA at bay though, going on an 12-3 run after four straight points by Daniel Batcho to build their largest lead of the game at 48-35 with 7:17 remaining.
The Bulldogs made just one field goal the remainder of the game, but their perimeter defense and rim protection by Batcho, who had four blocks, kept them in it. The Lumberjacks made just three field goals during the same stretch, and got to within three at 52-49 with still 1:06 to go.
After making just 18 of 32 free throws, Dravon Mangum and Jordan Crawford both stepped up and sank a pair at the foul line to secure the road win.
“The game got down to three and Dravon Mangum came off the bench cold and hits two free throws,” said Hester. “I thought we guarded really well. When Daniel Batcho fouled out, I thought it left us exposed at the rim. We knew we needed to do something. We needed to make free throws, contest them at the rim, and secured rebounds.”
Isaiah Crawford had a game-high 19 points while Batcho secured his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The ‘Dogs committed a season-high 20 turnovers, but SFA was only able to turn them into 15 points.
Tech hosts UL-Lafayette Saturday at 2 p.m.
