MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A tie game with seven minutes to go, Louisiana Tech was unable to pull off the upset as the Bulldogs fell, 81-71, to No. 16-ranked Memphis on Wednesday night at the FedEx Forum.
Going up against the top three-point shooting team in the country, LA Tech (7-2) showed its shooting ability by hitting a season-high 13 triples. However, the Bulldogs were not able to limit mistakes as turnovers and rebounding was too much to overcome.
LA Tech turned it over a season-high 20 times, leading to 31 points for Memphis (7-1). Then there was the inability to win the battle on the glass as the Tigers secured 20 offensive boards, leading to 21 second chance points.
Despite committing 14 first-half turnovers (five on the first five possessions), LA Tech still had a 38-37 halftime lead. The one-point edge was thanks in large part to the outside shooting of the Bulldogs, in particular Al Green who came off the bench to drain four threes in the first stanza, including one that tied it up at 33-33.
The 'Dogs, down as much as eight, secured their first lead of the game on the next possession when Kaden Cooper got the putback on the offensive rebound.
The Tigers regained the lead three minutes into the second half and later went on a 7-0 run to build an 11-point advantage, their largest of the game, with 11:05 to go in the game.
LA Tech battled back yet again, countering with a 13-2 run over the course of four minutes to tie the contest up at 63-63 with seven minutes to play. The run was spearheaded by Sean Newman Jr. who dished out two of his game-high 11 assists to kick-start it and sank a deep three-pointer and driving layup.
The bucket to knot the game up was provided by Amaree Abram who got the steal and fastbreak layup. Memphis punched back though with the help of free throws (made 22 of 33 attempts from the charity stripe) to put together a 9-0 run to stymie the momentum of the Bulldogs.
Newman Jr. hit his second three-pointer to stop the bleeding. Adding a Daniel Batcho free throw put LA Tech down, 67-72, with 1:39 to play but second chance points and free throws helped Memphis put the game out of reach.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Green off the bench with 18. Newman Jr. registered his third double-double of the season with 13 points to go along with his 11 assists. Leading scorer Batcho was limited to 12 points but had six blocks for a second straight game. Abram and Kaden Cooper each tallied 10.
The two-headed monster of PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter led the Tigers with 23 and 20 points, respectively.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Talvin Hester On the loss …"We played hard. We did not turn it over in the second half like we did in the first half. But 20 turnovers and 20 offensive rebounds by your opponent does not give you a chance to win. And when you put them on the free throw line 33 times. We have to eliminate mistakes. I tell the team all the time it is not a game of making great plays, it is a game of limiting mistakes. Right now, we are making too many mistakes. If we can clean these up, we have a good team here."
On another quality performance by Al Green off the bench …"Before long we aren't going to be shocked by Al Green's performances. He keeps doing it game after game. He was super efficient. We are really good when he is on the floor."
On the team's shooting …"It comes from good shots. It is not like we did anything special. We took the opportunities that were given to us. They were mostly catch-and-shoot, open threes that we got to go down. Once we settled in, we played with Memphis. We have to be tough enough on the glass and get more 50-50 balls going forward."
NOTABLES
- With the loss, LA Tech now trails in the all-time series with Memphis, 2-4.
- The Bulldogs had their five-game winning streak away from home come to an end.
- LA Tech made a season-high 13 three-pointers, shooting a season-high 56.5 percent from beyond the arc.
- The Bulldogs registered seven blocks. They have now had at least five rejections in eight of their nine games this season.
- Sean Newman Jr. recorded his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 assists. It marked his fourth game this season with 10+ assists (most by a Bulldog in a single season since Alex Hamilton in 2025-16). He now has 227 career assists as a Bulldog, the 19th most in program history.
- Al Green led the Bulldogs in scoring for the second time this season with 18 points. He has scored 18+ points in four games, all coming off the bench. He went 5-of-7 from three-point range, giving him five triples for the second straight game.
- Daniel Batcho extended his streak of consecutive games scoring double-digit points to 16 after scoring 12 points. He made four of his five field goal attempts and is now shooting 74.1 percent from the field this season.
- For the second straight game, Daniel Batcho tallied six blocks (third time in his career with at least six rejections in a game). He is the first Bulldog in at least 25 years to have back-to-back games of at least six blocks.
- Daniel Batcho now has 94 career blocks as a Bulldog. He is six shy of becoming the eight Bulldog in program history with 100 rejections.
- Kaden Cooper led LA Tech in rebounding for a seventh time this season with nine boards.
- Amaree Abram extended his streak with at least one steal to nine games. He had two steals against the Tigers, his seventh game with multiple steals.
UP NEXT
LA Tech will be on the road again Sunday, Dec. 8 to take on rival UL-Lafayette. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
