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Bulldogs Ready To Keep Road Roll Going Against San Jose State


 

  
Posted Feb 13, 2004 18:07:58


Bulldogs Ready To Keep Road Roll Going Against San Jose State

Louisiana Tech looks to sweep its two-game road trip Saturday as the Bulldogs face San Jose State in a 4 p.m. contest at Walt McPherson Court.

The Bulldogs are coming off a big win as they knocked Hawaii out of first place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 62-61 win late last Thursday night.

Tech stands at 12-10 overall and 6-6 in the WAC while San Jose State has lost 13 straight and stands at 5-16 and 0-11.

The win over Hawaii should give the Bulldogs plenty of momentum as they topped the Warriors for the first time ever in Hawaii with strong defensive play despite being shorthanded.

Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard had been asking his squad for big defensive stops late in tight games. His wish came true against Hawaii as Tech's Corey Dean pulled up and hit the game-winning jumper with 49 seconds remaining, and then held on for a pair of defensive stops in the waning seconds.

Hawaii moved the ball downcourt for a late attempt to win the contest, but a kicked ball out of bounds turned off the shot clock and gave the Rainbow Warriors the opportunity to try for the win at the buzzer.

Julian Sensley's 3-point try was no good, and the Bulldogs boxed the Warriors away from the rebound as time ran out for Hawaii.

"We've had four different games this season where we needed one late stop to win," Richard said. "This time we got more than one, and it gave us the win. It was a great win in a great game. I'm extremely proud of the win despite some of the adversity we faced."

That adversity left the Bulldogs with only nine players availble for the contest as Richard benched two players who did not dress for disciplinary reasons.

Freshman forward Paul Millsap, who did not start for the first time this season for disciplinary reasons, led the Bulldogs with 19 points and eight rebounds while Wayne Powell added 15 points and five rebounds.

"This is as big a win I can remember us having in the WAC and is a great game to build on," Richard said. "San Jose hasn't won a conference and you know they're looking to catch someone on their home court. We have to keep working on and keep trying to get better because we don't want to be their first conference win of the season."

Millsap leads the Bulldogs with 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest while Donell Allick is adding 11.9 ppg for Tech and Corey Dean is chipping in with 11.3 ppg.

Powell is Tech's only other player averaging double-digits in the scoring column with 10.4 ppg.

San Jose lost 62-55 at home to Southern Methodist last Thursday and is led by Eric Walton with 12.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg.

Brett Lilly is adding 9.7 ppg for the Spartans.

Louisiana Tech leads San Jose State 5-0 in a series that began when the Bulldogs joined the WAC prior to the 2001-02 season. Louisiana Tech has outscored San Jose 373-303 for an average win of 74.6 - 60.6.

The last time the teams met Louisiana Tech made a move in the second half and guarded its lead the rest of way as the Bulldogs took a 73-62 win over San Jose State on Jan. 16 at the Thomas Assembly Center.

Tech led that contest 29-27 at intermission and stretched its lead five minutes into the second half as the Bulldogs utilized a four-guard lineup much of the way through the final stanza.

Louisiana Tech's guards accounted for 70 percent of the team's scoring in that first game of the season against the Spartans with JueMichael Young leading the way with a career-high 24 points while Allick added 10 points for the Bulldogs' backcourt.


PROJECTED STARTERS:

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (12-10, 6-6)
Pos. No. Name Yr. Ht/Wt Ppg. Rpg
G 1 Donell Allick Jr. 6-3/186 11.9 3.7
G 23 Corey Dean Jr. 6-3/197 11.3 4.0
F 33 Barry Thompson Jr. 6-5/230 4.9 3.0
F 4 Wayne Powell Jr. 6-8/260 10.4 6.3
F 24 Paul Millsap Fr. 6-7/225 15.5 12.5

COACH: Keith Richard (UL-Monroe, 1982) 103-64 (.617) -- 6th season


San Jose State Spartans (5-16, 0-11)
Pos. No. Name Yr. Ht/Wt Ppg. Rpg
G 11 Bim Okunrinboye Sr. 6-0/189 3.9 3.3
G 23 Brett Lilly Sr. 6-6/205 9.7 1.8
F 35 Marquin Chandler Jr. 6-7/220 6.9 3.6
F 40 Demetrius Brown Jr. 6-6/230 8.8 3.8
F 50 Eric Walton St. 6-8/215 12.6 7.3

COACH: Phil Johnson (East Central Oklahoma, 1981) 22-53 (.282) -- 3rd season