LYNCHBURG, Va. – The road continued to not be kind to Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs fell, 77-53, to Liberty on Thursday night inside Liberty Arena.
LA Tech (16-7, 5-5 CUSA) never led in the contest, struggling on the offensive end while Liberty (18-5, 6-4 CUSA) used run after run to hand the 'Dogs their fifth straight loss away from home.
Two of those runs by the Flames came in the first half in the form of a 7-0 spurt and a quick 10-0 outburst that put the Bulldogs down, 27-11, about 11 minutes deep into the game.
The halftime deficit would be exactly 16 points for LA Tech, but the 'Dogs would finally get some rhythm offensively thanks to the bench help of Al Green and Sean Elkinton. The two juniors combined to score 13 of the team's 15 points during a five-minute stretch that cut the deficit down to 12 with 11:26 to go in the second half.
However, Liberty exploded yet again, going on an 18-3 run that put the game out of the reach for LA Tech.
The Bulldogs shot just 39.2 percent from the field and made just six of their 26 three-point attempts. Green had four of those three-pointers, leading the team with 18 points. Elkinton was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 11.
Liberty was an even 50.0 percent from the field plus 52.2 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-22). While their leading scorer Kaden Metheny was held in check with just seven points, four other Flames reached double figures led by Taelon Peter who had 16.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester On the loss …"We were not doing the things we talked about in practice. There was a stretch there in the middle of the game where we started following the scouting report, getting stops, and getting the deficit down. But we did not do it consistently and against a good team like Liberty they make you pay for it."
NOTABLES
- With the loss now, LA Tech and Liberty are now tied in the series, 2-2. The home team has won all four matchups.
- LA Tech was held to just 53 points, the second fewest this season. It was the first time this season the Bulldogs did not have a single lead in the game.
- Al Green led the Bulldogs in scoring for a third time this season. It marked the fifth time this season he has made at least 18 points in a game. He made four triples, marking the fourth time this season with at least four makes from beyond the arc.
- Sean Elkinton reached double-digit points for the third time this season. All three have come during conference play.
- Sean Newman Jr. tallied six assists, marking the 22nd time in 23 games this season he has had at least five. In doing so, he became the fourth Bulldog in program history to reach 200 assists in a single season (along with Speedy Smith, Wayne Smith, and Alex Hamilton. He now has 350 for his Bulldog career, the 12th most in school history.
- AJ Bates pulled down a career-high 7 rebounds as the freshman led the Bulldogs on the boards.
UP NEXT
LA Tech heads to Miami to battle the FIU Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+
