Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Louisiana Tech
Bulldogs Fall in Double OT to Louisiana Tech
2/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb 6, 2004
RUSTON, La. (AP) - Paul Millsap and JueMichael Young had 19 points each and Louisiana Tech survived two overtimes to defeat Fresno State 80-75 Thursday night.
Millsap, the nation's No. 1 rebounder, also had a game-high 16 rebounds and Wayne Powell added on 13 points and 11 boards to help the Bulldogs (11-9, 5-5 Western Athletic Conference) win their third game over the past four outings.
Fresno State (10-9, 6-4) got a season-high 26 points from Shantay Legans, 16 from Marcus West and 12 from Jack Marlow.
West also added 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. But West's big night didn't help Fresno State measure up to La Tech on the boards. Tech outrebounded the Bulldogs 53-45, including 23 rebounds on the offensive glass.
Regulation time ended at 57-57 after Young hit a 12-foot jumper with a minute to go. Both teams had one possession each before regulation time ended, but neither could convert.
In the first overtime, Fresno State jumped to a four point lead with 2:37 left. But a jumper by Young then a three-pointer from Donell Allick gave Louisiana Tech a 64-63 lead with 46 seconds to play.
After an Allick free throw with 14 seconds left, Legans hit a running five-footer as the buzzer sounded to force a second OT.
Tech outscored Fresno State 15-10 in the final OT, including four critical points by Corey Dean in the first two minutes of the final session.
The Bulldogs led 35-29 at halftime, helped mainly by 16 first half points from Legans. But they shot only 28 percent in the second half on 9-of-32 shooting. In the final 18 minutes of the second half, neither team led by more than four points.
The loss was Fresno State's fourth in the last five games. The Bulldogs finish up a brutal road stretch Saturday at SMU, a game that will be televised by KFRE. Fresno State does have the most favorable finishing schedule in the WAC. The team plays six of its last eight, and then the WAC Tournament, at the Save Mart Center.
