Vandals falter in Ruston
Idaho drops to 0-6 at Louisiana Tech
RUSTON, La. – Olu Ashaolu had 24 points and 18 rebounds Thursday to help Louisiana Tech snap an eight-game losing streak with a 71-56 victory over Idaho.
It was the 12th double-double of the season for Ashaolu, who entered tied for the Western Athletic Conference lead with 9.4 rebounds a game. He also was 8 for 9 from the free-throw line.
Ashaolu’s layup gave Louisiana Tech (10-12, 1-7) a 64-51 lead, its largest of the second half to that point, with 4:40 left to play.
The Vandals (12-8, 5-3), who won the first meeting between the teams by 30 points on Dec. 31, cut the deficit to 64-54 with 3:15 to play. Kenyon McNeaill hit five free throws and Cordarius Johnson dunked during a 7-0 run to give Louisiana Tech a 71-54 lead with 1:55 left. McNeaill finished with 21 points.
Jeff Ledbetter scored 20 points to lead Idaho, which fell to 0-6 all time at Louisiana Tech.
Idaho (12-8, 5-3)—Ledbetter 7-12 0-0 20, Henderson 0-4 0-0 0, Wiley 2-7 1-2 5, Geiger 1-7 0-0 3, Barone 2-7 5-8 9, Tatum 3-5 0-1 6, Toledo 4-7 0-2 8, Madison 2-6 0-0 5, Kammerer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 6-13 56.
Louisiana Tech (10-12, 1-7)—Ashaolu 8-16 8-9 24, Brown 3-10 0-0 6, Roshell 2-9 0-0 4, McNeaill 7-12 5-7 21, C. Johnson 1-4 2-2 4, Hall 0-0 2-2 2, Smith 2-5 2-2 6, Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Souza 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 24-59 21-24 71.
Halftime—Louisiana Tech 36-22. 3-Point Goals—Idaho 8-19 (Ledbetter 6-10, Madison 1-2, Geiger 1-5, Wiley 0-1, Henderson 0-1), Louisiana Tech 2-12 (McNeaill 2-5, Brown 0-2, C. Johnson 0-2, Smith 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Idaho 31 (Geiger, Henderson, Toledo, Wiley 4), Louisiana Tech 44 (Ashaolu 18). Assists—Idaho 13 (Geiger 5), Louisiana Tech 4 (Ashaolu 3). Total Fouls—Idaho 23, Louisiana Tech 17. A—1,830.