Louisiana Tech (23-9) earned a 59-57 victory over Western Kentucky (19-13) in the Quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament on Thursday night.
How it Happened
Survive and advance. That's the name of the game in March, and that is exactly what Louisiana Tech did against Western Kentucky on Thursday night.
Eric Konkol's squad got off to a hot start with a 15-4 run in the first 3:38 of game action.
Keaston Willis led the attack with 9 of his team-high 17 points coming in that span.
Louisiana Tech would lead by as many as 14 on two separate occasions in the first half.
A David Green 3-pointer with 6:09 remaining in the half would give Tech its second 14-point lead at 31-17.
However, WKU would close the half on a 16-5 run to close the gap to 3 at intermission.
Dayvion McKnight would convert a 3-point play with 16:21 remaining in the game to tie the game at 38.
The two teams would trade buckets over the next 7 minutes of action before Josh Anderson connected on a 3-pointer with 9:37 remaining to give Western Kentucky its first lead at 50-49.
Willis and Kenneth Lofton Jr. weren't going to let the Bulldogs lose on this night.
Tech would score the next 5 points on a Willis 3-point field goal and Lofton Jr. jump shot to take a 54-50 lead with 6:37 to go.
Back come the Hilltoppers.
McKnight and Josh Anderson would combine to score the next 7 points for WKU to take lead back at 57-54 with 3:47 remaining.
Back come the Bulldogs.
Keaston Willis drove the lane and hit a beautiful floater to cut WKU's lead to 1 with 2:58 remaining.
After the two teams combined for 5 straight empty possessions, Eric Konkol went to his big fella Kenneth Lofton Jr. with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
The Port Arthur, TX native delivered.
Lofton Jr. got to the rim and converted to give Tech a 58-57 lead.
On the other end, Jamarion Sharp was fouled after an offensive rebound and would go to the line for two shots.
Sharp, a 41% free throw shooter, missed both.
Kenneth Lofton Jr. pulled down the rebound and made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to give Tech a 59-57 lead with 4 seconds left.
A Cameron Justice 3-pointer as time expired was left begging, and Louisiana Tech advanced to the Semifinals of the C-USA Tournament with a 59-57 win.
Keaston Willis led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 6/12 shooting from the field.
Kenneth Lofton Jr. added 15 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists for the Bulldogs in the win.
Dayvion McKnight led Western Kentucky with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
Semifinals Up Next
Louisiana Tech will square-off with North Texas in the Quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament on Friday morning.
Tip-off is set for 11:30 AM on CBS Sports Network.
---
Join us at BleedTechBlue.com to discuss the match-up with North Texas. Join us for only $9.95 a month. We are your #1 source for all things Dunkin' Dogs throughout the 2021-2022 season.
Sign-up here.
Follow us on Twitter: @BCarlisle37, @BleedTechBlue
