Louisiana Tech ready to host Jackson State
RUSTON, La – The Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team will look to get the bad taste out of its mouth from its first home loss when they take on Jackson State tonight at 6 p.m. inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court.
It is the third of a fourgame home stand for LA Tech (6-2). It is also the second to last non-conference game in the TAC prior to Conference USA play.
The Bulldogs had their 11-game home winning streak come to an end in a gut-wrenching way this past Wednesday.
After senior guard Jacobi Boykins tied the game up with 17 seconds against Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks broke that tie with a game-winning layup.
It was a rare home loss for LA Tech.
It was just the fourth home loss in the last three years and all four games have been one-possession losses.
The Bulldogs played well enough offensively to get the win, shooting 54 percent from the field while making 11 three-pointers and 22 free throws.
However, it was an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers and allowing 13 offensive boards that proved to be the difference.
The offense was driven by the backcourt of DaQuan Bracey, Jalen Harris, Derric Jean and Boykins who all scored in double-figures, combining to post 64 points. All four of these Bulldogs are averaging double-digit points for the season as well, led by the sophomore Harris who is recording 15.4 points per contest.
Jackson State (2-6) has wins over Millsaps College and Omaha under its belt.
The Tigers have spent the majority of their schedule on the road this season, playing five away games with all five resulting in defeats.
Most recently, JSU suffered a 65-52 loss at Louisiana-Monroe and a 70-63 loss at Central Michigan.
The Tigers have four players who are averaging double figures in scoring.
One of those four is senior guard Paris Collins, a First Team Preseason All-SWAC selection, who is averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game.
Collins also is averaging an incredible 3.5 steals per game which ranks third in the country.
He registered seven steals in the last game against the Chippewas to go along with 19 points and 10 boards.
Jackson State is coming off a 14-18 season and a fifth-place finish in the SWAC.
The Tigers were picked to finish third in the league in the preseason poll.
Saturday will be the first of two meetings this season for LA Tech against SWAC opponents. They will later face Alabama State on Dec. 21 in the first game of the New Orleans Shootout in New Orleans.
LA Tech is 32-7 all-time against the SWAC, having won the last 15 meetings.
Of the 10 current SWAC teams, JSU is the most common opponent for the Bulldogs.
It will mark the 13th meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.
The Bulldogs have won nine straight over the Tigers, including the last meeting that went into double overtime in Ruston in 2015.
This will be the fourth time in the last five seasons that LA Tech and JSU face off against one another.