By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate Athletic Director/Strategic Communications
RUSTON — Louisiana Tech ended up having to play the entire game without Daniel Batcho and the entire second half without Sean Newman Jr.
Even so minus those two key starters, the Bulldogs were able to grind out a 63-58 victory over Jacksonville State on Thursday night inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
One of the reasons was the performance by Terri Miller Jr. Getting his first career start as a Bulldog, the forward scored a season-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting while also contributing four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The other big reason was LA Tech’s (17-8, 7-3 CUSA) defense, which forced 19 turnovers while limiting Jax State (12-14, 4-7 CUSA) to just 39.6 percent shooting from the field. There was also the defense on CUSA-leading scorer KyKy Tandy who was limited to just seven points.
The Bulldogs held the lead for 37 minutes and 36 seconds, but the lead was never comfortable as the Gamecocks stayed within striking distance the entire game.
After LA Tech build a 22-12 lead on a three-point play by Isaiah Crawford, Jax State reeled off three straight three-pointers to make it a one-point game. The Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run and ultimately took a 7-point lead into halftime, 35-28.
The Gamecocks would whittle their deficit down to a one-possession game at 40-37, but Tahlik Chavez countered with five straight points followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from Miller Jr. to give the ‘Dogs their largest lead of the game at 48-37 with 12:15 to go.
Jax State would not go away, punching back with a 7-0 run to force a timeout by LA Tech with 8:53 still to play and the home team only up four. Crawford would hit a three-pointer and get an offensive putback to keep the Gamecocks at bay.
It was short-lived though as the visitors got it back to within three points on two occasions, the last one being at 59-56 with 4:32 still to play. Despite the Bulldogs making only one field goal the remainder of the contest, they got enough defensive stops (and four straight free throws in the final 17 seconds by Tahlik Chavez) to pull off the win.
Crawford and Chavez each tallied 13 points as LA Tech shot 40.4 percent from the field. Juwan Perdue and Ivan Reynolds were the lone double-digit scorers for the Gamecocks with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
On the win …
“We have a scrappy group. There are so many things on the stat sheet you would look at and say no way [we won]. Jordan Crawford and Tahlik Chavez were our leading rebounders. Isaiah goes 5-for-17. We just found a way to win. I think good teams do that. I am proud of them. We had one offensive rebound in the first half but had 10 in the second half. I think we just found a way when we had some adversity. On the road to trying to win a championship, you have to learn to win through adversity.”
On forcing 19 turnovers …
“It was just our positioning on defense. We were in the right places a lot of the night. Guys made plays. We were scrappy. Different guys made different plays. I am proud of every guy who played a minute tonight.”
On the defense on KyKy Tandy …
“We mixed up match ups on him. We kept throwing new bodies, fresh bodies at him. We did not want anybody getting too tired. Good scorers find out how their opponents are guarding them. We did not want him to get into a rhythm.”
On Terri Miller Jr. …
“The way he started this year with a foot injury, battling himself to get back in shape. Playing behind Daniel Batcho, not getting a bunch of minutes. Not being able to play through mistakes because of who he plays behind. He finds out a few hours before the game he is going to started and he puts in a performance like he did. I think it is a testament to how hard he has been putting in the work and to our staff for pushing him. I am so proud of him.”