2012-13 BULLDOG BASKETBALL
Game 33 Louisiana Tech 78, Nevada 73 3/9/12, Las Vegas, Nev. LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Three Louisiana Tech players scored in double-figures, led by senior Trevor Gaskins’ 21 points, as the Bulldogs defeated Nevada 78-73 Friday night at the Orleans Arena. With the victory, Tech advances to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Finals for the first time in program history. LA Tech improved to 18-15 while the Wolf Pack drops to 26-6. The Bulldogs fell behind 55-53 after three free throws on two consecutive Nevada possessions with over 11 minutes to play in the game. A layup from freshman Kenneth Smith tied the contest on Tech’s next possession after falling behind. Nevada took their final lead of the game after Malik Story made the last of his five three-pointers with 2:53 to play to put the Wolf Pack up 71-69. The Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run over the next 2:41 as freshman Kenneth Smith went 3-for-4 at the charity stripe. Jerry Evans Jr. cut Tech’s advantage to three with 12 second on the clock with a layup after senior Romario
Souza blocked a three-point attempt from Kevin Panzer. Gaskins was fouled after receiving the inbound pass and nailed his two free throw attempts to seal the victory for the Bulldogs. Two three-pointers from junior Brandon Gibson and one by freshman Raheem Appleby helped the Bulldogs start the game ahead 13-6 a little over three minutes into the contest. Nevada went on a 10-3 run to tie the contest with 13:26 on the clock. Tech responded with a 18-3 run of their own to go up 34-19, the Bulldogs’ largest lead of the game, with over eight minutes left in the period that was capped off by a three-pointer from sophomore Kenyon McNeail. Deonte Burton, the WAC Player of the Year, made his lone three-point field goal with 21 seconds on the clock to cut the Bulldog’s lead to 42-39 at halftime. Along with Gaskins, Appleby and Souza also reached double-figures in scoring with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Souza went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line and Appleby made 6-of-8 attempts at the charity stripe as well. Smith scored nine points, all of which came in the second half, and broke Tech’s record for steals by a freshman with three steals in the contest. He surpassed Gerrod Henderson’s mark of 40 that was set in the 199899 season. Gaskins and Smith both grabbed a team-high five rebounds while Gaskins dished out four assists. The Bulldogs shot 53.1 percent (26-49) from the field including 66.7 percent (16-24) in the first half. They also made seven of their first eight three-point attempts and went 18-for-22 (81.8 percent) at the free throw line. Dario Hunt recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end, and Story scored 21 points for the Wolf Pack. Olek Czyz and Evans also added 18 and 10 points, respectively. Burton dished out a game-high five assists while Hunt blocked two shots. Nevada made 41.3 percent (26-63) of the shots including 39.1 percent (9-23) from beyond the arc. The Wolf Pack did outrebound LA Tech 37-27 including 19-5 on the offensive glass.
Game 34 New Mexico State 82, Louisiana Tech 57 3/10/12, Las Vegas, Nev. LAS VEGAS, Nev. - In the program’s first Western Athletic Conference Championship game, Louisiana Tech fell 82-57 to New Mexico State Saturday night at the Orleans Arena as senior Trevor Gaskins tied his careerhigh with 24 points. The Bulldogs are 18-16 while the Aggies are now 26-9 and move onto the NCAA Tournament after earning the conference’s automatic bid. Tech struggled in the first half as they shot only 25.0 percent (9-36) from the field and missed all 10 of their three-point attempts. New Mexico State on the other hand went 17-for-31 (54.8 percent) on their field goal attempts and outrebounded Tech 30-15 as the Aggies took a 38-20 lead into halftime. After NMSU stretched their lead to 31 nearly seven minutes into the second period, the Bulldogs fought back to get within 67-46 with 3:55 to play on an oldfashion three-point play from Gaskins.
82
That would be as close as the Bulldogs would get as NMSU came away with the victory. Gaskins was a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line which is tied for the seventh best in program history with former Bulldog Victor King who accomplished the feat against Centenary on Dec. 27, 1978. Freshman Raheem Appleby also reached doublefigures in scoring with 15 on 7-of-15 shooting. Junior Brandon Gibson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while freshman Michale Kyser blocked three shots. LA Tech shot 32.8 percent (20-61) from the field for the game and made just three three-pointers. Wendell McKines recorded a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 14 rebounds. Tyrone Watson and Daniel Mulling both scored 12 points apiece as well. Hernst Laroche dished out six assists and Hamidu Rahman had three blocks on the night. New Mexico State shot 55.9 percent (33-59) from the field and scored 56 of their 82 points in the paint. On the glass, the Aggies outrebounded the Bulldogs 46-27 including 33-16 on the defensive boards. Appleby and Gaskins were both named to the alltournament team after their performances in the tournament.