Bulldogs grind out 56-49 road win over Stephen F. Austin

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — It took two hours and 23 minutes, but as the final horn blew Louisiana Tech came out on top, defeating Stephen F. Austin by a final score of 56- 49 on Tuesday night inside William R. Johnson Coliseum. At times, it felt more like a football game than a basketball game.

And a defensive one at that, pitting two of the top defensive teams in the country against one another.

Tech’s (7-2) defense was the one that prevailed, holding SFA (54) to just 21.9% shooting (14-of-64) and only one made three-pointer.

But free throws played a huge role in the final outcome as there were a combined 51 fouls called, resulting in a combined 68 free throw attempts.

The first breakaway by the Bulldogs came in the first half when they went on an 11-0 run to take a 19-10 lead with seven minutes to go in the stanza.

Tech got up by as much as 11, but SFA’s lone three-pointer went down in the final minute to make it a 29-21 game at halftime. The Lumberjacks could only muster five made field goals in the entire second half.

But free throws, free throws, and more free throws kept the home team in the contest.

Four straight makes at the charity stripe cut their deficit down to 3632 with 13:56 left. Tech kept SFA at bay though, going on an 12-3 run after four straight points by Daniel Batcho to build their largest lead of the game at 48-35 with 7:17 remaining.

The Bulldogs made just one field goal the remainder of the game, but their perimeter defense and rim protection by Batcho, who had four blocks, kept them in it.

The Lumberjacks made just three field goals during the same stretch, and got to within three at 52-49 with still 1:06 to go.

After making just 18of-32 free throws, Dravon Mangum and Jordan Crawford both stepped up and sank a pair at the foul line to secure the road win.

Isaiah Crawford had a game-high 19 points while Batcho secured his fourth doubledouble of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Dunkin’ Dogs committed a seasonhigh 20 turnovers, but SFA was only able to turn them into 15 points.

Tech is back inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday to take on long-time rival UL-Lafayette.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.