ESTERO, Fla. – Down eight with 3:30 to go, Louisiana Tech came back to force overtime and then win it in the extra frame, 85-79, against Southern Illinois on Monday afternoon at Hertz Arena.
LA Tech (5-0) was out of sorts for the most part in its first game of the Gulf Coast Showcase, finding themselves down, 58-66, as SIU held the lead for nearly the entire second half. The Bulldogs ended up outscoring the Salukis, 27-13, the remainder of the game.
The team made nine of their last 12 field goal attempts during that last run as well as going 10-of-12 from the free throw line (ultimately made 26 of their 30 attempts at the charity stripe).
The game turned with about eight minutes remaining in the first half. Up 26-16 after a driving layup by Kaden Cooper with 7:42 left in the stanza, LA Tech went ice cold and started turning the ball over.
The Bulldogs scored only one point at the foul line and committed six turnovers while SIU closed the half on a 15-1 run to put LA Tech down, 27-31 (12 of those points coming from Cooper).
In the second half, the scoring was mostly provided by Amaree Abram who helped spark an 11-2 run by LA Tech to regain the lead at 45-44. The lead lasted only 26 seconds as the Salukis took advantage of three turnovers to go on a 6-0 run and regain the edge.
The Bulldogs found themselves down as much as 11 with 7:58 left and then an 8-point deficit after SIU's Jarrett Henley connected on two free throws.
After that, LA Tech got a big three-pointer (only their fifth triple of the game) from Al Green and five straight points by Daniel Batcho, including an and-one, that ultimately tied the game at 70-70 and forced overtime.
Batcho got the 'Dogs off to a good start in OT as well, executing another three-point play. LA Tech never trailed from there, putting the game away at the free throw line with Sean Newman Jr. draining two to put the team up four with 15 seconds left and then Green adding two more FTs to seal it.
LA Tech had five players score in double figures – Green (game-high and season-high 19), Abram (18), Cooper (18), Batcho (16), and Newman Jr. (11). Cooper also added a career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double. Defensively, Abram had six of the team's 16 steals and Batcho tallied four of the team's six blocks.
SIU was led in scoring by Kennard Davis Jr. who had 16 followed by Hensley who finished with 15. They were limited to 39.4 percent shooting from the field and 29.2 percent from three.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester
On pulling out the overtime win …"With about eight minutes to go in the game all we talked about was toughness. I felt like Southern Illinois was being tougher than us. I challenged our guys to be tougher down the stretch, get loose balls, have great positioning, and finishing plays. I felt like we did a great job of that."
On Daniel Batcho's performance down the stretch …"The saving grace was he shot great from the free throw line. Late in the game we had a Daniel Batcho sighting. He started taking control of the game along with Sean. When they started doing that, it opened things up for guys like Al [Green] and others to be who they are."
On some of the individual efforts offensively …"We can score the ball. I feel like sometimes we relax on defense because we can score it. We went on a drought there in the first half that was concerning. We had some sightings those of players who stepped up for us. I am happy for us to win a game like this, a tough game that goes to overtime. We had the right mindset going into overtime, getting to play five more minutes, and we took advantage of it."
NOTABLES
- With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series against Southern Illinois, 4-3.
- LA Tech improved to 5-0 on the season, the first time the Bulldogs have won the first five games of the season since 2017.
- The Bulldogs have now won nine of their last 11 games away from home (road and neutral games).
- LA Tech has now had at least a five-game winning streak in each of the last 16 seasons.
- The Bulldogs improved to 6-3 in overtime games under head coach Talvin Hester.
- LA Tech had five players score in double figures for a second time this season.
- LA Tech made 26 of its 30 free throw attempts. The 26 made FTs is a season high. It also marked the third time this season the Bulldogs have made 20+ free throws.
- LA Tech registered 16 steals, marking the second straight game with at least 15 (had 18 against Mississippi College). It is the first time in at least 20 years that the Bulldogs have had 15+ steals in back-to-back games.
- The Bulldogs have had at least five blocks in all five games this season (had six against the Salukis).
- Kaden Cooper registered his first double-double of the season, recording season highs in both points (18) and rebounds (12). The 12 boards are the most by a Bulldog in a single game this season.
- Amaree Abram (18) and Daniel Batcho (16) have now scored in double figures in all five games this season.
- Al Green scored a season-high 19 points, his second game in double figures this season.
- Daniel Batcho recorded a season-high four blocks, extending his streak of at least one block to nine games. It marked his 16th career game as a Bulldog with at least three rejections.
- Amaree Abram registered a career-high six steals. It tied for the sixth most in a single game in program history.
UP NEXT
LA Tech will take on Richmond in game two of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast at FloCollege.com.
