RUSTON, La.?Louisiana Tech staked an early
lead and hung on for a 69-57 victory over visiting ULM Wednesday night at the
Thomas Assembly Center. It was the first
meeting between the two schools in 18 years despite being separated by just 30
miles.
Magnum Rolle led all scorers with 19 points for
the Bulldogs, while Kyle Gibson added 16 and Kenneth Cooper scored 13. Rolle added a game-high eight rebounds and
Gibson pulled down seven boards.
Playing in the first game of his ULM career,
University of Miami transfer Lawrence Gilbert scored a team-high 14 points,
with nine coming in the final four minutes of each half. Malcolm Thomas netted 11 points and Rudy
Turner added 10 for the Warhawks. Turner
led the Warhawks on the glass with five rebounds.
La Tech jumped out to a 15-4 lead over the
first six minutes of the ball game by shooting a blistering 6-of-9 from the
field. The Warhawks used a 9-2 run over the final
four minutes of the half to close the deficit to 32-29 at the break.
The Bulldogs (4-4) extended their lead out to
nine, 40-31, in the opening minutes of the second half before the Warhawks (2-5) fought
back once again pulling within one point, 52-51, with just over six minutes
remaining.
ULM went cold from the floor over the
remainder of the game connecting on just 2-of-12 to close out the contest. The
Bulldogs ended the game in the exact opposite way hitting 5-of-8 down the
stretch. The Warhawks fall to 0-12 all-time against La Tech in Ruston.
La Tech attempted 27 free throws on the night
compared to just 12 attempts by the Warhawks.
ULM was whistled for 23 fouls, while the Bulldogs were called for only 13
fouls.
Neither team valued the basketball turning
the ball over a combined 34 times. La
Tech took advantage of 18 ULM turnovers scoring 19 points, while the Warhawks
scored six points off 16 La Tech turnovers.
The Warhawks continue their five-game road
trip on Saturday in a return game with McNeese State. The Cowboys defeated ULM
82-63 back on Nov. 20 in Monroe.
