LA Tech falls at New Mexico, 74-65

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Louisiana Tech had its five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night, falling by a score of 74-65 to New Mexico in front of 10,216 fans inside The Pit.

LA Tech (5-2) did enough defensively against one of the top scoring offenses in the country in New Mexico (6-1). The Bulldogs held the Logos to just 37.9 percent shooting.

However, the ‘Dogs did not have enough go their way offensively to pull off the road upset, shooting a season-low 35.6 percent. While they were efficient from beyond the arc (8-of-19), LA Tech could not get many baskets to fall around the rim. Plus, starting point guard Sean Newman Jr. got hurt early in the contest and was able to make his usual impact.

It was 7-2 in favor of the Bulldogs after three minutes, but the Lobos came with an offensive blitz, going on a 16-1 run to take an 18-8 lead with 10:43 to go in the first half.

LA Tech could not buy a bucket, making just four of its first 22 shots. Down 12 late, the Bulldogs were able to find a glimmer of offense, primarily due to Isaiah Crawford who scored 10 of his team’s last 15 points of the half. He ended up with 13 of his game-high 24 points in the first stanza, including a half-court buzzer beater to make it a 35-28 deficit.

Crawford’s and-one got the Bulldogs back to within seven early in the second half, but another blitz came by the Lobos. This one was ignited by Jemarl Baker Jr. who buried back-to-back three-pointers as part of an 8-0 run that took just a minute to happen.

UNM got up by as much as 18, but the ‘Dogs continued to hang around. A driving layup by Jordan Crawford made it a 64-54 game with 3:28 to play, a bucket that forced a timeout by the Lobos. It was Baker again though putting UNM on his back, draining his sixth three following the TO in route to a game-high 18 points.

While Isaiah Crawford matched his season high in scoring, Jordan Crawford had a season-high 12 points as the Bulldogs only other double-digit scorer. Daniel Batcho finished with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester

Opening statement …
“We knew it was going to be a physical game. At the end of the day, the second chance points they got, the fastbreak points they got, really hurt us. We will continue to fight and get better.”

On missed shots around the rim …
“Batcho missed a lot of point-blank range. We have to have carry over. How you play is how you practice. I need to put him in situations in practice that challenges him. He will be better. He went out there and fought.”

On playing from behind …
“When we are missing easy shots, we have to rely on our defense a lot more. I felt like we got some of the shots we wanted and late in the half they started going in. We spotted them too many points early. I was proud of our fight in the second half, but we have to put two halves together.”

On Jordan Crawford …
“Losing Sean was a big blow to us. He played 16 minutes but about 10 of them he was not right. I was proud of Jordan. He stayed on the attack and did things we were asking of him. He can grow from here.”

NOTABLES
• With the loss, New Mexico now leads the all-time series over LA Tech, 3-0. All three meetings have taken place at The Pit.
• Bulldogs held the 19th-ranked scoring offense in the country to their second fewest points (71) and second worst shooting percentage (37.9) this season.
• Isaiah Crawford matched his season high with 24 points. It marked his third 20+ scoring performance of the season and the 13th of his career.
• Isaiah Crawford moved up two spots on the all-time career scoring list at LA Tech, now at 38th with 1,090 points.
• Jordan Crawford tallied a season-high 12 points.
• Daniel Batcho registered a game-high 12 rebounds, the third time in five games this season he has had double-digit boards.
UP NEXT
LA Tech returns home to face Nicholls on Saturday, Dec. 2 inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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