North Texas eliminates LA Tech from C-USA Tournament

FRISCO, Texas – Not many shots were falling for Louisiana Tech on Thursday night as the Bulldogs fell, 74-46, to North Texas in the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals at the Ford Center.

Coming off a taxing overtime victory in the first round, LA Tech (15-18) ran into a buzz saw against the home team of North Texas (26-6) who was fresh and bringing to Court A the No. 1 scoring defense in the country.

And that defense flexed its muscle. The Bulldogs made a season-low 14 field goals while going 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. And when they did get to the foul line for some free throws, those did not seem to fall either as they made just 16 of their 29 attempts.

The Mean Green pulled away fairly early, going on an 11-1 run to build a 17-6 advantage just almost seven minutes into the game.

A Dravon Mangum three-pointer, followed by a driving layup by Quandre Bullock, got the ‘Dogs to within six with 6:34 to go in the first half. That was as close as they would get because UNT had plenty falling (even quite a few tough buckets with hands in their face) to advance to the semifinals.

The Mean Green was efficient in all three levels on offense, shooting 51 percent from the field, sinking eight triples, and making 18 of their 22 free throw attempts.

Jordan Crawford was the lone Bulldog to reach double-digit points with 10. UNT had four players in double figures, led by Aaron Scott who had 19.

QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester

“I am proud of this team because we had every reason to quit. And I do not think we did. I think North Texas just punched us in the mouth and established who they were as the No. 1 scoring defense in the country. At the end of the day, we have to use this experience and understand what it takes to be good in this league. And being good is being good consistently.”

SOCIAL MEDIA
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