2012-13 BULLDOG BASKETBALL seconds left gave Tech the lead for good as Smith hit 1-of-2 free throws to seal the victory with 0.3 second remaining. Gaskins scored 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc while freshman forward Michale Kyser blocked three shots in only seven minutes of action. Smith had a team-high six rebounds and a game-best four assists and three steals. The Bulldogs shot 42 percent for the game including 54 percent in the second half. On three-point shots, they went 10-of-24 overall and 8-for-13 in the second period. UALR was led by D’Andre Williams with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Will Neighbour and Guy also contributed 12 points apiece. From the field the Trojans went 22-for-48 including 7-for-15 from three-point range. At the free throw line they hit 71 percent of their shots.
Game 12 Louisiana Tech 56, Northeastern 53 12/20/11, Ruston, La. RUSTON, La. - Junior guard Brandon Gibson and freshman guard Raheem Appleby led Louisiana Tech to
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another exciting victory over the Northeastern of the Colonial Athletic Association Tuesday night 56-53 in front of 2,183 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center. Appleby led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting while Gibson scored 14 on 5-of-9 shooting as the Bulldogs improve to 7-5 on the year. The Huskies drop their fifth straight contest and are now 3-6 overall. Tech has now won five of its last six games with all five victories coming by three points or less. Tech fell behind by nine in the second half, 30-21, after a layup from Kashief Edwards with 15:46 left in the game. A 7-0 run over the next 2:41 cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to two with four points coming from freshmen Kenneth Smith and three from Gibson. The Huskies stretched the lead back to eight at the 7:12 mark on a layup by Alwayne Bigby. Gibson’s three-pointer with 3:51 remaining pulled the Bulldogs within one, 46-45, before two free throws from Northeastern’s Marco Banegas-Flores pushed the LA Tech deficit back to three. The Bulldogs were able to cut their disadvantage to a single point twice more before taking a 51-50 lead with 59 seconds left in the game. Tech fell behind again after Jonathan Lee of the Huskies made two free throws to put Tech behind by one-point again. Gibson’s put-back off an offensive rebound with 31.8 seconds remaining gave Tech a 53-52 lead. Gibson then stole the ball on Northeastern’s ensuing possession with 23 seconds remaining and Trevor Gaskins capitalized by hitting both free throws with 19 seconds to play to give Tech a three point lead. Both teams hit one out of two free throws as the lead remained at three setting up one final game-tying attempt by Huskies guard Joel Smith at the buzzer that rimmed out to seal the victory. The Bulldogs struggled to score in the first half as they shot 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from the field and trailed 21-17 going into halftime. However, Tech came on strong after halftime, shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field behind Gibson’s 14 second half points. The Bulldogs’ defense, led by freshman forward Michale Kyser’s career-high seven blocks which is also tied for the third most in a single-game in program history, held the Huskies to 33 percent (20-of-60) shooting. Tech recorded 13 steals and scored 19 points off turnovers. The Tech bench came up huge scoring 46 of Tech’s 56 points with 33 coming in the second half. Northeastern was led by Reggie Spencer, who recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds. Quincy Ford scored 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and guard Lee added 10 rebounds. The Huskies ended the game with 50 rebounds.
Game 13 Arkansas 77, Louisiana Tech 63 12/22/11, Fayetteville, Ark. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Louisiana Tech fell to Arkansas 77-63 Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena as freshman guard Raheem Appleby scored 23 points, his third straight 20-point game, on 10-of-22 shooting to pace the Bulldogs. The defeat ends Tech’s three-game winning streak as the Bulldogs fall to 7-6 on the year while the Razorbacks improve to 8-3.
The Bulldogs started out hot from the field making six of their first eight shots as they took a 17-6 lead at the 13:41 mark of the first half. A jumper from Arkansas’ Rashad Madden gave the Razorbacks their first lead of the game but a threepointer from senior guard Trevor Gaskins on Tech’s next possession gave the Bulldogs a 22-20 advantage. Tech fell behind 32-29 after a basket and two free throws from Arkansas. A layup from junior guard Brandon Gibson cut the Bulldogs deficit to one, 32-31, with 2:17 left in the period. Appleby would score the only two points the rest of the half as Tech was outscored 8-2 to go into halftime down 40-33. In the second half, the Bulldogs got within three after a layup from senior forward Romario Souza that was countered by Arkansas on the other end. A tip-in from Souza cut Tech’s deficit back to three-points again, 45-42. Down seven with 12:36 remaining in the period, Tech went on an 8-2 run over the next 3:08 behind four points from Souza to cut the deficit to 56-55. A layup from Souza brought the Bulldogs to within two, 61-59, with 8:13 left in the game. That would be as close as Tech would get as the Razorbacks outscored the Bulldogs 16-4 the rest of the way. Gaskins scored 12 and Souza contributed 10 points in the effort. Sophomore guard Cordarius Johnson and freshman guard Kenneth Smith had a team-high five rebounds apiece. Smith and Souza also had game-highs with three assists and two blocks, respectively. For the game, Tech shot 38 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free throw line. Arkansas was led by Ricky Scott with 18 points as B.J. Young and Devonta Abron scored 16 and 10 points, respectively. Madden grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. As a team, the Razorbacks went 31-for-64 from the field and 9-of-11 on free throws.
Game 14 Louisiana Tech 69, Spring Hill 41 12/29/11, Ruston, La. RUSTON, La. - Freshman guard Raheem Appleby scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, a career-best, for his first career double-double as Louisiana Tech (8-6) defeated Spring Hill (8-3) Thursday night 69-41 in front of 4,930 fans at the Thomas Assembly Center. In the first half, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-2 advantage after a layup from senior forward Romario Souza and a three-pointer from senior guard Trevor Gaskins. The Badgers scored the next four points to take their only lead of the game, 6-5, at the 16:29 mark. Tech responded with an 11-2 run over the next 9:18 for an eight-point advantage. Spring Hill came back to tie the game 19-19 with 4:12 left in the period before the Bulldogs scored the final seven points of the half to go into halftime up 2619. The 19 points are the fewest Tech has given up this season in the first half. The Badgers’ Brett Williams hit a jumper at the 16:46 mark of the second half to cut the Bulldog’s lead to 32-27. That would be as close as Spring Hill would get