By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate Athletic Director/Strategic Communications and Digital Marketing; featured photo by Josh McDaniel
RUSTON – After missing games on this past road trip, Jordan Crawford and Al Green made their presence known on Thursday night as the duo combined for 22 points to help Louisiana Tech secure a 77-67 victory over WKU inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
The first half belonged to Green who came off the bench to score eight straight points, giving LA Tech (14-6, 3-4 CUSA) an offensive jolt as well as its first lead of the game.
The second half belonged to Crawford who for some reason loves playing WKU (11-8, 2-4 CUSA) in the TAC. As a freshman, he put up 11 points and six assists. Last season, he netted a career-high 25 points.
On Thursday, he tallied 11 points, a career-high nine rebounds, and two assists. Oh, and he did it in just 11 minutes and 27 seconds on the floor.
There was hardly any scoring in the beginning of the game with the Bulldogs and Hilltoppers knotted up at 10-10 at the 9:52 mark. Green was the one that tied it for the ‘Dogs with a three-pointer from the wing. He added another triple and a driving layup, which was followed by a fastbreak finish at the rim by AJ Bates that resulted in a 7-0 run and a 17-16 lead, LA Tech’s first advantage of the night.
Another 7-0 run came later on with Devin Reeproviding five of those points, making it a 29-21 edge. Ree’s three-pointer was the only made field goal for the Bulldogs in the final five minutes, but the home team still held a 33-28 halftime lead.
The first half had its fair share of fouls (20) and free throw attempts (21). The second half really, really had its fair share of fouls and free throws. Much of the stanza happened at the foul line, especially with Daniel Batchodrawing 10 total fouls on his own.
After being somewhat limited with just eight points through 30 minutes of action, the Bulldogs made a concerted effort to punch the ball inside to Batcho. And with the Hilltoppers hanging around in a one-possession game at 54-51, Batcho scored eight straight points for LA Tech to increase that advantage to 60-51 and 7:07 left to play.
Then it was Crawford time. He buried timely three-pointers, tossed lobs up to Batcho for slams, and got defensive rebound after defensive rebound to keep WKU from making a comeback.
One of his threes proved to be the dagger. With 1:04 to go and the ‘Dogs up by six, Batcho drew a double team and dished the ball out to a wide-open Crawford who buried the triple from the wing.
LA Tech ended up shooting 42.6 percent from the field (20-47). Batcho was the team leader with 18 points. Devin Ree provided 12 as the fourth Bulldog in double figures. The bench wound up scoring 32 points on the night, tied for the most this season.
WKU was limited to just 33.8 percent shooting from the field (22-65). Three Hilltoppers cracked double-digit points, led by Don McHenry who had a game-high 21.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
On the win …
“It was really exciting to be back at home. Our fans are amazing, you get to sleep in your own bed. I was really happy to have our whole team back as well. I think that was the theme of the night. We were healthy. We had 32 bench points. Jordan Crawford almost had a double-double off the bench in just 11 minutes.”
On the bench play …
“Al [Green] was 3-for-6 from three. Jordan [Crawford] with 11 and nine. AJ [Bates] was a +13. When you have your bench doing that, it gives you a chance to be great. Will Allen was a plus. When you have options on the bench, you can do different things and gives you variety. When Devin [Ree] and Kaden [Cooper] were in foul trouble, Jordan Crawford goes in and plays the four. He dominates it. His rebounding was elite.”
On the difficulty of finding rhythm with fouls and free throws …
“In the heat of the battle, you worry about the little free throws. I think we have to do a better job of walling up at the rim and not providing team’s to get and-ones. We want to be aggressive on offense though and attack. Most of our free throws came in the second half when we just kept trying to punch the ball inside.
On key possessions down the stretch …
“Jordan [Crawford’s] rebounding was key. We were able to get stops and rebound. And then we did not turn it over.”
On Daniel Batcho drawing so many fouls …
“Offensively, we are just trying to get the ball to him. Most teams are throwing multiple bodies at him. Over time, those bodies wear down. I think it is a testament to his stamina and being able to keep fighting over the course of the game. When we were getting [WKU] in foul trouble, our mission was to punch the ball inside when they started switching guards on him.”
NOTABLES
- With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series against WKU, 23-22. The Bulldogs have now won seven of the last nine meetings versus the Hilltoppers.
- LA Tech has now won nine of its last 10 matchups versus WKU in the Thomas Assembly Center.
- The Bulldogs extended their home winning streak to six games, improving to 8-1 on the season.
- LA Tech set season highs for made free throws (29) and free throws attempted (42). Both are the most by the Bulldogs in a single game since Dec. 4, 2015 against Jackson State.
- The Bulldogs held the Hilltoppers to 67 points on 33.8 percent shooting. LA Tech is now 11-1 when holding opponents under 70 points and it was the seventh time this season holding an opponent under 40 percent shooting.
- LA Tech’s bench scored 32 points, tied for the most this season (also had 32 against Rust College).
- Daniel Batcho led the Bulldogs in scoring for the ninth time this season (third straight game) with 18 points. He has scored in double figures in 19 of the 20 games (has scored 18+ points in 12 contests).
- Daniel Batcho was fouled 10 times, marking the third time in the last four games he has drawn double-digit fouls. He attempted 14 free throws, the sixth time this season taking double-digit free throws in a game.
- Devin Ree backup up his career-high 14 points at Kennesaw State this past Saturday with a 12-point effort against WKU, his fourth game this season reaching double-digit points.
- Jordan Crawford recorded a season-high 11 points as well as a career-high nine rebounds in just 11 minutes and 27 seconds of action off the bench. It marked the second time this season he has led the Bulldogs on the boards in a game.
- Al Green registered 11 points off the bench after missing the last two games due to injury. He knocked down three triples (fourth time this season he has made at least three threes in a game).
- Sean Newman Jr. went a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line. He has now made 18 consecutive free throws.
- Amaree Abram tied his career high with eight rebounds.
- Sean Newman Jr. dished out a game-high five assists. He has now recorded at least five dimes in 19 of the 20 games played this season. He now has 328 career assists as a Bulldog, tied for the 13th most in program history.
- Daniel Batcho registered one block. He has now had at least one rejection in 42 of his 48 games as a Bulldog.
UP NEXT
LA Tech returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 to host league leader Middle Tennessee. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.
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