By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate Athletic Director/Strategic Communications and Digital Marketing
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Louisiana Tech had four players score in double figures, led by Sean Newman Jr. who had a game-high 23 points, as the Bulldogs defeated Middle Tennessee, 85-74, on Thursday night inside the Murphy Center.
It was two different paths leading into the contest. LA Tech (18-9, 7-7 CUSA) was coming off two home losses while MTSU (17-9, 8-5 CUSA) was coming off two road wins. And it was the Bulldogs who prevailed, leading for 38:44 of the 40 minutes to sweep the Blue Raiders this regular season.
The game had several runs by both teams. The first one was provided solely by Al Greenwho opened the game with eight straight points for an early 8-0 lead.
With LA Tech up eight at 14-6, the Blue Raiders used a 9-0 run including back-to-back layups by Camryn Weston to take a one-point advantage 10 minutes into the first half. That would be the only lead that MTSU would have the entire night.
A Daniel Batcho dunk sparked a 12-0 run by the ‘Dogs that also included two three-pointers by Amaree Abram and a buried triple by Sean Elkinton to go up 26-15. After AJ Bates got in on the three-point action with one of his own, an 11-point lead was suddenly erased and the Bulldogs found themselves tied with the Blue Raiders at 33-33.
Newman Jr. broke the lone tie in the game with three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. He followed that up by finding Green on the wing for his third three to give LA Tech a 39-33 edge at halftime.
The Bulldogs hit the Blue Raiders again with a run right out of the second half as well, an 11-1 run to be exact that was capped off by an offensive rebound and putback by Elkinton to go up 50-36 and force a timeout by MTSU at the 15:01 mark of the stanza.
The home team would only slice their deficit down to nine points, which came in the final minute, as Newman Jr. put them away, scoring 10 of LA Tech’s last 12 points. Six of those points by Newman Jr. came from the free throw line where he was a perfect 11-for-11. He also dished out six assists.
Green finished with 16 points (13 in the first half) while Abram and Batcho tallied 14 and 10 points, respectively, as LA Tech shot 44.8 percent from the field (26-of-58), 37.0 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-27), and 79.3 percent from the charity stripe (23-of-29).
MTSU’s leading scorer Jestin Porter led the way for the Blue Raiders with 16 points (had just two in the second half).
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
On the road win …
I am proud of our guys. We still have room to grow. There are mistakes that you are putting your hands on your head thinking there is no way we made this mistake. But that is part of growth. We just have to continue to grow and get better.”
On Sean Newman Jr. …
“I feel like when you are running a press its like blitzing in football. We ran the press break to get the ball out. When Sean gets that ball going full speed, it is hard to stay in front of him. He took the game in hand and took over late in the game.”
On the team effort …
“Sean Elkinton was great tonight. I don’t know of a player that came on the court that did not contribute in a good way. There were some guys that played great. Amaree Abram held [Jestin] Porter to two points in the second half. Al Green was a plus 18 on the stat sheet.”
NOTABLES
- With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series over Middle Tennessee, 17-8. The Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings and have swept the series in each of the last two seasons.
- LA Tech improved to 6-5 over Middle Tennessee when playing in the Murphy Center.
- LA Tech claimed its 18th victory of the season. The Bulldogs have now won 18+ games in 12 of the last 14 seasons.
- In LA Tech’s last two road wins (FIU and Middle Tennessee), the Bulldogs have only trailed for 23 seconds.
- The Bulldogs made 10 three-pointers (most in a CUSA game), marking the fifth time this season with 10+ triples.
- LA Tech recorded nine steals, tied for its most in a conference game this season.
- LA Tech outrebounded Middle Tennessee, 37-32. The Bulldogs are now 14-4 this season when outrebounding their opponent.
- The Bulldogs scored 46 points in the second half, marking the 13th time this season LA Tech has scored 40+ points in the second stanza.
- Sean Newman Jr. recorded his fourth 20+ scoring performance of the season, tallying a game-high 23 points.
- Sean Newman Jr. went a perfect 11-of-11 from the foul line. He became the eighth Bulldog in program history (and first since Alex Hamilton in 2016) to go perfect from the free throw line (min. 10 attempts).
- Al Green scored in double figures for the 10th time this season with 16 points (had 13 in the first half). He knocked down three three-pointers (has hit 3+ triples in five of his last 10 games).
- Amaree Abram recorded double-digit points (14) for the 19th time this season, hitting two three-pointers. He has now made multiple three-pointers in 19 games this season. He also tied his career high with eight rebounds.
- Kaden Cooper led the Bulldogs in rebounding for the 15th time this season with 11 boards (seventh time with 10+ rebounds). He also posted three steals (has at least two steals in each of the last three games).
- Daniel Batcho tallied 10 points, marking the 24th time this season he has scored in double figures. He now has 900 career points as a Bulldog.
- Sean Newman Jr. dished out a game-high six assists. He now has 223 assists on the season (third most in program history) and 369 for his Bulldog career (10th most in program history).
UP NEXT
LA Tech heads to Bowling Green, Kentucky to face off against WKU on Saturday night inside E.A. Diddle Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
