RUSTON, La. – UTSA guard John Buggs III had the best game of his career on Thursday night in his return to his home state, dropping a career-high 20 points on 6-8 shooting with six threes, but it wasn't enough as UTSA dropped its first road C-USA contest of the year to Louisiana Tech, 91-69.
UTSA (6-7, 0-2 C-USA) dropped its second straight contest at the Thomas Assembly Center as the Roadrunners were unable to overcome a strong second-half performance by the Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech (8-5, 1-1 C-USA) was able to extend a seven-point halftime lead to 22, as it walked away with a win. La Tech outscored UTSA 54-16 in the paint as the post production was the catalyst for the Bulldog offense.
The aforementioned Buggs poured in a career-high to lead the UTSA offense as he became the fourth different Roadrunner to score at least 20 points in a game this season. Also scoring in double-figures was freshman DJ Richards who had 13 points, two rebounds and three assists. Erik Czumbel had a productive night off the bench as the Italian senior chipped in ten points, knocking down three triples on the way. Japhet Medor finished with eight points and seven assists, tying a season-high for him. Sophomore Josh Farmer led the team in rebounding, hauling in five boards to pair with nine points.
The Rundown
UTSA got off to a good start, taking an 11-7 lead into the first media timeout. Through roughly four minutes, four different Roadrunners had scored and each basket was assisted on. Coming out of the under-16, La Tech went on an 11-3 run to reclaim momentum and the lead, 22-14. Back-to-back baskets by Richards, a three and a runner, cut the Bulldog lead down to three. In response, Louisiana Tech rattled off an 11-4 run, each a basket at the rim, to regain the momentum. To end the half, the Roadrunners got two free throws and a follow-up-dunk from Farmer to cut into the Bulldog lead and put the halftime score at 43-36 in La Tech's favor.
After Louisiana Tech scored on its first second-half possession, DJ Richards came down the court and was fouled on a three-point shot and knocked down all three freebies to make it a six-point game with 19:21 left. That was as close as UTSA would get as the Bulldogs were able to pull away from there, holding at least a double-digit lead for over half of the second period.
Stat of the Game
The biggest factor in tonight's contest was turnovers. The Roadrunners gave the rock up 17 times and the Bulldogs were opportunistic, cashing in the turnovers for 22 points.
Up Next
After its first road C-USA game at Louisiana Tech, UTSA completes the two-game road stint at UAB. The game against the Blazers is set for New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, and is set to tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
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