RUSTON, La. — UTSA will close its first Conference USA road trip of the season at 6 p.m. on Saturday when it will face Louisiana Tech at Thomas Assembly Center.
The Roadrunners (6-9, 1-1 C-USA) will look to bounce back from Thursday's 77-59 setback at Southern Miss, despite a season-high 19 points from freshman Giovanni De Nicolao. The Padua, Italy, native scored 16 points in the first half, when UTSA shot 53.1 percent from the floor and he made his first four attempts from behind the arc.
Fellow freshman Byron Frohnen is averaging 11 points and 7.2 rebounds per game over his last five contests. The Las Vegas product continues to lead the team in rebounding at 6.7 per contest, which ranks 10th in C-USA.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (10-5, 2-0 C-USA) will look to extend their winning streak to four games when it hosts the Roadrunners on Saturday. The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 in Conference USA play when it defeated UTEP 64-44 on Thursday night in Ruston. Erik McCree leads the offense, which ranks fourth in C-USA at 77.9 ppg, with a team highs of 17.4 ppg and 9.5 rpg. In all, five players average at least 9.5 ppg, including Jacobi Boykins (14.9 ppg), Jalen Harris (11.5 ppg), Omar Sherman (9.7 ppg) and Derric Jean (9.5 ppg).
Louisiana Tech leads the all-time series 10-2, including a 5-0 mark in Ruston, La. The Bulldogs have won the last five meetings since UTSA claimed a 73-67 victory over LA Tech in the 2014 Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
Saturday's game can be heard live in the San Antonio area on Ticket 760 AM beginning with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. Andy Everett will have the call.
Click here for complete game notes.
