Aggies Down Bulldogs 69-65
Bulldogs Fall 69-65 to Utah State-->By:
Updated: January 16, 2012
RUSTON - Brockeith
Pane scored a career-high 24 points to lead Utah State to a 69-65 win over
Louisiana Tech in Western Athletic Conference action before 4,099 fans at the
Thomas Assembly Center Saturday night.
The Aggies (10-8, 2-2 WAC) overcame an early barrage of three-pointer from the Bulldogs (8-10, 0-3 WAC) as Tech connected on six in the opening eight minutes of the game to build a double digit lead. For the game, Tech was 12-of-29 from beyond the arc but hit only 38 percent of its total shots.
Tech opened the game with three consecutive three-pointer to take a 9-0 lead and eventually pushed it out to double digits at 20-8 on a three-pointer by Cordarius Johnson at the 13:12 mark of the first half.
However, Utah State chipped away and cut the deficit to 31-29 at the half.
The Aggies were the aggressor early in the second half as Utah State scored 12 straight points coming out of the locker room to take a 41-31 advantage with 16:56 to play. The Bulldogs answered the call as Brandon Gibson scored seven points in a 10-0 run as Tech tied the game at 41-41 with 14:15 remaining.
After the teams continued to trade buckets over the next five minutes, freshman Michale Kyser gave Tech its only lead of the second half with 9:16 to play on a jumper as the Bulldogs led 51-50.Utah State then used a 15-4 run to pull out to a 65-55 advantage with just over minutes remaining.
Tech made one final run as McNeail's three-pointer from the top of the key cut the deficit to 66-64 with 39 seconds remaining before Utah State hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to win.
McNeail scored a season-high 19 points while Raheem Appleby and Trevor Gaskins added 10 points each.
The Bulldogs return to action Thursday when they travel to face Hawaii.
The Aggies (10-8, 2-2 WAC) overcame an early barrage of three-pointer from the Bulldogs (8-10, 0-3 WAC) as Tech connected on six in the opening eight minutes of the game to build a double digit lead. For the game, Tech was 12-of-29 from beyond the arc but hit only 38 percent of its total shots.
Tech opened the game with three consecutive three-pointer to take a 9-0 lead and eventually pushed it out to double digits at 20-8 on a three-pointer by Cordarius Johnson at the 13:12 mark of the first half.
However, Utah State chipped away and cut the deficit to 31-29 at the half.
The Aggies were the aggressor early in the second half as Utah State scored 12 straight points coming out of the locker room to take a 41-31 advantage with 16:56 to play. The Bulldogs answered the call as Brandon Gibson scored seven points in a 10-0 run as Tech tied the game at 41-41 with 14:15 remaining.
After the teams continued to trade buckets over the next five minutes, freshman Michale Kyser gave Tech its only lead of the second half with 9:16 to play on a jumper as the Bulldogs led 51-50.Utah State then used a 15-4 run to pull out to a 65-55 advantage with just over minutes remaining.
Tech made one final run as McNeail's three-pointer from the top of the key cut the deficit to 66-64 with 39 seconds remaining before Utah State hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to win.
McNeail scored a season-high 19 points while Raheem Appleby and Trevor Gaskins added 10 points each.
The Bulldogs return to action Thursday when they travel to face Hawaii.
