Defense shines as Bulldogs down Blue Raiders

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Louisiana Tech got back to its defensive identity on Thursday night, snapping its road losing streak by defeating Middle Tennessee, 60-52, inside the Murphy Center.

LA Tech (11-6, 1-1 CUSA) managed to hold Middle Tennessee (6-10, 0-1 CUSA) to just 38.9 percent shooting from the field while also forcing 18 turnovers. Add to that 11 steals and four blocks.

Four of those steals came courtesy of Isaiah Crawford who added 14 points on the offensive end. And three of those blocks came from Daniel Batcho who put up another double-double with a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Ten of those 16 points came during one stretch midway through the second half. After MTSU took a two-point advantage with 12:25 to play in the game, Batcho himself went on an 8-0 run to flip the lead in favor of the Bulldogs at 44-38.

He made it 10 straight points after a made layup with 5:51 to go, up 46-40. After the Blue Raiders’ Jordan Porter matched his layup to cut their deficit down to four, Tahlik Chavez had a big three-pointer from the top of the arc to push the advantage out to 49-42.

With less than one minute to go and up five, Chavez came up huge again by hitting a dagger three from the corner to make it 55-47 in favor of LA Tech. The squad then went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch to help snap the ‘Dogs four-game road losing streak.

Chavez, who was the third Bulldog in double figures with 15 points, went 3-of-5 from deep with his first triple tying up the game at 24-24 (the first of six ties in the contest). An Isaiah Crawford free throw would give LA Tech a 25-24 edge going into halftime.

Porter had a game-high 24 points for Middle Tennessee, hitting three of the team’s five three-pointers (went 5-of-22 from beyond the arc). Jared Coleman-Jones added 17 points and 10 boards.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester

On the defense …
“I told the guys we cannot let teams score 70 points on us consistently. When we hold teams under 70, we give ourselves a chance to win. In the first half even though we did not play particularly well offensively, we did what we came to do defensively. It is hard to keep good players down.”

On Daniel Batcho’s performance …
“Good players come back. He had good week of practice. I do not think he had a good first half, but he holds himself accountable and told us it would not be that way in the second half.”

On Tahlik Chavez hitting big shots …
“He has no fear. I think everybody is seeing that. He is capable of running off a few in a row. He hit two late that were huge threes at the time that he hit them.”

NOTABLES
• With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series with Middle Tennessee, 14-7. The Bulldogs snapped a two-game losing streak to the Blue Raiders and picked up their first win in the Murphy Center since 2020.
• LA Tech snapped its four-game road losing streak.
• LA Tech held its 11th opponent this season to under 40 percent shooting as the Blue Raiders shot 38.9 percent from the field.
• The Bulldogs improved to 11-0 this season when holding their opponent under 70 points.
• The Bulldogs recorded 11 steals, marking the sixth time this season with double-digit steals.
• Daniel Batcho registered his seventh double-double of the season.
• Tahlik Chavez scored 15 points, knocking down three triples. He has hit at least three three-pointers in four straight games.
• Isaiah Crawford moved up to 31st on the all-time career scoring list after tallying 14 points (now has 1,232). He has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
• Isaiah Crawford registered four steals, giving him 154 for his career which ranks seventh all-time. It marked the 13th time in his career with at least four steals in a single game.
• Daniel Batcho posted three blocks, marking the seventh time this season with at least three in a single game.

UP NEXT
LA Tech returns home to host Liberty on Sunday, Jan. 14 inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

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