Louisiana Tech Athletic Communications
Two program records fell on Saturday inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
Louisiana Tech set a new single-game record with 33 assists. Twenty of those belonged to Sean Newman Jr., shattering the assist mark for a Bulldog, as LA Tech disposed of Rust College, 108-60, in the final non-conference game of the regular season.
Newman Jr. flirted with breaking the single-game record back on Nov. 18 when he dished out 14 dimes, coming one shy of tying the mark that was set by legendary point guard Speedy Smith in 2012.
“He keeps being so unselfish,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “When we need him to do something, he is usually there to get it done. Whether it is leadership, scoring the basketball, getting other people shots, he has been really good at those things. He deserves this honor.”
It seemed inevitable today as Newman Jr. had nine assists in the first 10 minutes of the game, helping to give LA Tech (11-2) a 32-8 advantage that included a 20-0 run versus the Bearcats.
His 11th dime came with 2:01 to play as Devin Ree buried a three-pointer, providing the Bulldogs register their 50th point of the game. Ultimately, the home team would take a 52-30 lead into the locker room.
Three more assists took place in the first two minutes of the second stanza, two of which came on alley-oop dunks by Kaden Cooper and Daniel Batcho. Another alley-oop slam to Batcho was the 15th and then a corner three-pointer by Cooper was the record breaker, both of which was part of a 19-0 run to put Rust away.
All the Bulldogs did exactly what they have been doing all season. Batcho scored a game-high 27 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Cooper had a double-double as well with 17 points and 11 boards as well. Amaree Abram drained three three-pointers in route to 17 points. And the bench provided a season-high 32 points.
And then of course there was Newman Jr. with his program-setting 20 assists which also set a new Conference USA record. This performance came five days after pouring in a career-high 25 points against Grand Canyon.
“I wanted to see us give all-out effort,” said Hester about his team’s final non-conference game. “The first half, I thought we got a little lazy defensively. We were capable of being better than that. I challenged them in the second half to be better. I thought we did a good job before I started subbing. Our team has a variety of ways we can attack. When we are guarding, we can be a handful for teams. I just want to continue sharing the love and continue to make the right play.”
LA Tech eclipsed 50 percent shooting for a fifth straight game (shot 56.4 percent). Rust was limited to 33.3 percent shooting from the field with Jordin Jackson leading the Bearcats in scoring with 17.
