By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate Athletic Director/Strategic Communications and Digital Marketing
KENNESAW, Ga. – It was a second straight heartbreaking loss on the road for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs fell, 78-76, to Kennesaw State on Saturday night at the KSU Convocation Center.
Trailing almost the entire game, LA Tech (13-6, 2-4 CUSA) hung around and gave itself chances down the stretch to grab its first conference road win of the season. Their last attempt was a steal with eight seconds to go and a contested three-pointer by Devin Ree to try to tie it but was off the mark.
The Bulldogs kept the Owls high-powered offense in check for much of the first half but could not get much offensive rhythm of their own. LA Tech went a stretch of six straight minutes without a made field goal, allowing KSU (11-7, 3-2 CUSA) to build a seven-point lead. Contributing to that was star point guard Sean Newman Jr. sitting on the bench with his second foul.
Points were coming from Daniel Batcho at the free throw line and then AJ Bates and Devin Ree combined for seven straight points to get to within two. The deficit would ultimately be three, 33-30, at halftime.
KSU’s Bradan Lue got hot coming out of the locker room, scoring the Owls’ first eight points of the second half to help the home team build a nine-point lead. However, Newman Jr. started to take command sinking a jumper and a three followed by a dish to Ree who buried a triple in front of the team’s bench to have the Bulldogs trail, 45-44, with 13:50 to go.
Simeon Cottle, who finished with a game-high 25 points, would keep KSU in front with back-to-back jumpers. The home team’s lead would balloon to 10 with eight-plus minutes to go and become a 7-point edge with 2:22 remaining.
LA Tech had one last run in them to try to hand the Owls their first home loss of the season. Bates powered his way baseline for the layup. Ree followed by making two high-pressure free throws and then Batcho got the offensive rebound and putback to get to within one at 72-71 and 1:34 on the clock.
An untimely missed block out resulted in two made free throws for Adrian Wooley, one of the top scorers in CUSA. Another untimely happened next as Newman Jr. slipped around midcourt which led to a runout dunk by Wooley.
The Bulldogs battled in the final seconds just as they did on Thursday at Jax State but ended up suffering their second straight loss by one possession.
LA Tech had four players in double figures – Batcho (23), Ree (season-high 14), Newman Jr. (11), and Amaree Abram (11) – as the Bulldogs shot 41.9 percent from the field (26-62) and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc (8-20).
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
On a second straight close loss…
“If you look at the game, you’ll find seven or eight plays you wish you had back. We have to have guys step up and go get that key rebound. We had a late turnover that we should not have had. We had some unforced turnovers. We have to be able to eliminate those especially in crunch time.”
On Devin Ree and AJ Bates…
“They were unbelievable for us. I thought AJ played like an upperclassman. Hopefully the game can continue to slow down for him and he can play like this going forward. Devin struggled last game shooting the ball but he found it today.”
On playing without Sean Newman Jr. for a large chunk of the first half…
“You have to be able to adjust when certain things happen in basketball games. I looked over at AJ and called his number. He stepped up when Sean went out with foul trouble.”
On the offense in the second half…
“I think it was ball and body movement. We were too stagnant in the first half. When Sean went out, I don’t think the team was as locked in as they should have been. I started putting three guards out there in the second half, which means we were able to handle the ball a lot differently in the second half. They were able to get downhill and play mismatches.”
NOTABLES
- With the loss, LA Tech now trails in the all-time series with Kennesaw State, 1-0. The two teams will meet up again on Feb. 13 in Ruston.
- LA Tech made eight of its 20 three-point field goals, shooting 40.0 percent. The Bulldogs have now shot at least 40 percent from behind the arc four times this season.
- Four Bulldogs scored double-digit points, marking the ninth time this season LA Tech has had at least four players reach double figures.
- The Bulldogs recorded 15 offensive rebounds, tying their season high.
- LA Tech scored 46 points in the second half (10th time this season the Bulldogs have scored 40+ points in the second stanza).
- Daniel Batcho scored a team-high 23 points, marking the eighth time the forward has led the Bulldogs in scoring. It is his seventh 20-point scoring performance of the season.
- Devin Ree scored a season-high 14 points. It was the guard’s third game with double-digit points this season (previous high was 11).
- Amaree Abram reached double-digit points for the 15th time this season (second most on the team) with 11 points. The guard made two three-pointers, giving him 15 games this season with multiple triples. He has a team-high 42 made threes this season.
- Sean Newman Jr. tallied double figures in scoring for the 11th time this season with 11 points. He tied his season high with three made three-pointers.
- Daniel Batcho went 9-of-11 from the free throw line. It marked the fourth time this season the forward has attempted double-digit free throws in a single game.
- Sean Newman Jr. dished out seven assists, his 16th game this season with at least seven in a single game. It marked his 25th career game as a Bulldog with at least seven dimes.
- Amaree Abram tied his season high with four assists (third time this season with four dimes).
- For the sixth time this season, Daniel Batcho was LA Tech’s leading rebounder with seven boards.
- AJ Bates played a season-high 29 minutes.
UP NEXT
LA Tech will begin a three-game home stand on Thursday, Jan. 23 versus WKU. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court and will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
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