RUSTON, La. -- Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace teamed up to score 42 points, but DaQuan Bracey poured in 23 to lead Louisiana Tech to a 72-67 victory over UTSA in Conference USA action on Saturday afternoon at Thomas Assembly Center.
Jackson scored 22 and Wallace added 20, while Byron Frohnen registered his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds — five on the offensive glass — to lead the Roadrunners, who fell to 15-12 overall and 9-5 in league play.
Jackson, a sophomore from Puerto Rico via Euless Trinity High School, topped 20 points for the third straight game, 19th time this season and 33rd time in 53 career contests.
Wallace reached the 20-point plateau for the seventh straight game, 15th time in his sophomore campaign and 20th time in his career despite picking up his fourth foul at the 17:08 mark of the second half. The Dallas native made 8 of 16 from the field, including four 3-pointers to extend his single-season record to 109.
Frohnen, a junior from Las Vegas, made 5 of 8 from the floor and turned in 10-plus boards for the fifth time this season and in the 11th of game of his career.
Bracey led the Bulldogs (17-10, 7-7) with 23 after a 7-for-14 afternoon from the floor and a 6-of-7 effort at the free-throw line. Anthony Duruji registered a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Ra'Shawn Langston added 13 points on the strength of three 3-pointers.
In a game that saw 13 lead changes and was tied nine times — the eighth coming on a Wallace trey after an offensive board by Frohnen that tied it at 62-all — LA Tech made all eight of its attempts at the charity stripe in the final three minutes to hang on for the win and remain undefeated at home this season.
Bracey was fouled and knocked down both free throws and then came up with a steal and layup to hand the Bulldogs a 68-64 lead with 1:22 remaining.
UTSA would not quit, as Frohnen came up with another offensive rebound and found Wallace, who drained another trey with less than a minute on the clock to make it a one-point contest.
At the other end, Bracey drove into the lane and was fouled again with 31.2 seconds remaining. He made both to push the LA Tech lead to 70-67.
The Roadrunners had a chance to pull within one or tie it but missed a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left. With new life after the ball was determined to be out of bounds off a LA Tech player on the rebound, UTSA had two looks from downtown but neither would fall. Forced to foul, the visitors sent Langston to the line, who made both to seal the victory.
UTSA shot 42 percent (29-69) but made just 5 of 29 (17.2 percent) from beyond the arc and only 4 of 8 at the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, LA Tech shot 40.4 percent (23-57), hit 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) 3-pointers and 18 of 26 (69.2 percent) free throws.
Jackson scored 16 in the first half to help keep UTSA within one at the break. In a period that featured three ties and three lead changes, neither team led by more than two possessions through the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs opened up a 32-26 advantage after a 3-pointer by Amorie Archibald at the 5:37 mark, but UTSA knotted the score by finding its way to the rim. Layups by Wallace, Jackson and Atem Bior off a feed in the paint from Frohnen made it 32-all with 53.1 seconds on the clock.
The Roadrunners held LA Tech to just one field goal in the final five minutes, a runner in the lane by Bracey, who was fouled on the play. He knocked down the free throw and Jackson drained a long 2-pointer with 22 ticks left in the half to provide the 35-34 halftime margin.
The Roadrunners will find out their C-USA Bonus Play schedule Saturday night. They will play four games — two at home and two on the road — against Old Dominion, Western Kentucky, Southern Miss and UAB and are guaranteed at least a No. 5 seed for the Air Force Reserve Conference USA Basketball Championships on March 13-16 in Frisco, Texas.
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