Dec. 30, 2011

GameDay Central

RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech looks to finish 2011 on a high note as they travel to Dallas, Texas to face SMU at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 8-3 including a 69-64 victory last season in Ruston.

Freshman guard Raheem Appleby recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Spring Hill Thursday night as Tech improved to 8-6 on the season.

Appleby leads Tech in scoring at 11.8 points per game and is averaging 22.0 points per contest in the last four games. Senior guard Trevor Gaskins and sophomore guard Cordarius Johnson are also averaging in double-figures at 11.1 and 10.3 points per game.

Four Bulldogs are averaging more than four rebounds a contest paced by Gaskins (4.6 rpg) and followed by junior forward J.L. Lewis (4.2 rpg), freshman guard Kenneth Smith (4.4 rpg) and Johnson (4.5 rpg).

Smith leads the squad in assists with 3.9 per game which places him fifth overall in the Western Athletic Conference and is first among the conferences' freshmen.

Freshman forward Michale Kyser is the top shot blocker in the WAC at 2.4 per contest and is currently 13 blocked shots away from tying former Bulldog Eldon Bowman (1986-90) for 10th on the school's career list with 47 blocks.

SMU is 7-5 on the year after falling to Oklahoma State 68-58 in double overtime Wednesday night. The Mustangs are 4-0 at home with wins over Dallas Christian (77-41), Florida Gulf Coast (65-64), Georgia Southern (55-49) and McMurry (78-49).

Robert Nyakundi leads the Mustangs in scoring (17.0 ppg), field goal percentage (54.5%), three-point field goal shooting (48.6%) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). The only other player averaging double-figures in scoring is London Giles at 12.5 points per contest while also pacing the team in steals at 1.3 per game.

The Mustangs are coached by Matt Doherty who is 74-95 in his sixth season with SMU and is 164-166 overall that includes three seasons at North Carolina.

Dave Nitz, the "Voice of the Bulldogs," will be calling the action which can be heard on KXKZ 107.5 FM and KJVC 92.7 FM beginning with the preshow at 12:30 p.m. LA Tech All-Access subscribers can listen to of the game online by logging on through LATechSports.com, the official website of Louisiana Tech Athletics.

Live stats will be available through the GameDay Central page with a link provided at the top of the page. Twitter users can get updates of the contest as well by following sports information director Phillip Pongratz at www.twitter.com/LATechPPongratz.

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