By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate Athletic Director/Strategic Communications
ST. LOUIS — Louisiana Tech overcame a 13-point deficit to take the lead late in the game, but Saint Louis hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to escape with a 75-74 win on Saturday night inside Chaifetz Arena.
LA Tech (9-3) trailed 40-27 early in the second half. But the Bulldogs chipped away and chipped away, building as much as a six-point lead at 70-64 with 36 seconds to go.
The rest of the way, the ‘Dogs got four made free throws by Sean Newman Jr.However, the Billikens got an insane finish by Terrence Hargrove Jr. Their second leading scorer was held to just two points prior to the forward scoring 11 straight points in the last 28 ticks, including a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
It was a night that felt like Saint Louis (7-5) could not miss (even their fans made golf putts and long shots from half court throughout the game). Meanwhile, the Billikens had an 11-minute stretch of making 11 of 12 field goals in the first stanza to help them build a 37-27 lead at halftime.
Gibson Jimerson sank his fourth triple to put the home team up by 13. But the ‘Dogs did not go down without a fight. And it was the trio of Isaiah Crawford, Daniel Batcho, and Tyler Henry that led the charge.
It was two made free throws by Batcho that tied things up at 60-60 and then two made free throws by Henry to give LA Tech a 62-60 lead with 5:29 to go, its first since the opening minute of the contest.
After ties at 62-62 and 64-64, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run that included a deep three by Crawford to make it a six-point edge with under a minute to go before the Billikens made a furious rally to sneak away with the win.
LA Tech shot 24-of-59 (40.7 percent) from the field, 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from beyond the arc, and 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from the foul line. Crawford finished with 18 points, all coming in the second half. Batcho also had 18, a season high, to go along with 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double while Henry added a season-high 15 points.
Saint Louis was 27-of-50 (54.0 percent) from the field, hitting 10 of its 18 three-point attempts. Jimerson had a game-high 23 points.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
Opening statement on the game …
“We have to lick our wounds, see the mistakes we made and see if we can right the wrongs. It is never the shot at the end that beats you. It is usually the stuff you do in the middle of the game that comes back to bite you. We did not guard the mid-line late, made a few mistakes. I give it to our guys. They fought.”
On having zero turnovers …
“I thought we had some turnover shots in the first half. Some shots where you are in a big arena, big environment. When we settled in and played together, we were really good. We have to be able to get stops down the stretch and make our free throws. We missed a few free throws that could have moved the lead. It could have stretched the game a little more and made us play the game a little different.”
On Isaiah Crawford …
“I think when he started being confident in shooting the three-ball a little bit, he started going inside. It created opportunities for him to get downhill. He made a big three late. We trust him on the road. He showed up when we needed him to show up in the second half. We just have to be able to finish.”
On Tyler Henry …
“He kept us in it with his shooting in the first half, but in the second half I thought he was excellent defensively. He helped us get some stops in the post, knocked some balls away. He was excellent tonight.”