Louisiana Tech secured a significant victory on Thursday night, defeating Liberty 76-71 at Liberty Arena. AJ Bates led the Bulldogs with a career-high 34 points, shooting 13-of-23 from the field and making six three-pointers. He also contributed four rebounds, four assists, and three steals while playing the entire game.
The Bulldogs (17-13, 10-9 CUSA) maintained control throughout the contest and never trailed against Liberty (24-6, 16-3 CUSA), who had already clinched the regular season title and had only one previous home loss this year. Bates scored 22 of his points in the first half, helping Louisiana Tech to a 45-40 halftime lead despite Liberty’s strong three-point shooting.
Liberty’s Brett Decker Jr. finished with 30 points as the Flames kept pressure on in the second half. However, Louisiana Tech responded with key plays and rebounding to hold their advantage for more than 37 minutes of game time. The Bulldogs’ largest lead was by 11 points early in the second half.
Supporting Bates were Jaylen Fenner with 11 points and eight rebounds; DJ Dudley added nine points and three assists despite an injury; Avery Thomas II scored 12 points with seven rebounds; Kaden Cooper contributed four points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Louisiana Tech shot efficiently at 52.5 percent from the field while committing only eight turnovers. They outrebounded Liberty by ten (36-26) and outscored them in the paint by a margin of 32-14.
After Liberty tied the game at 65 with just over seven minutes remaining, Louisiana Tech limited them to two field goals for the rest of regulation while outscoring them 11-6 down the stretch—seven of those points coming from Fenner.
Head coach Talvin Hester commented on his team’s performance: “We shot 52 percent from the field in this game and 100 percent from the free throw line even though we did not shoot many. Those little things help when you are on the road. I am proud of the team. We played to our capability tonight. Now it is time to lock in on the next opponent.”
Regarding Bates’ performance, Hester said: “You never see a game like that coming. It is just one of those things where a play has it going. You must let him go with it. I was on him, making sure he was still managing the floor. He only had one turnover. It was a special night.”
On rebounding efforts he added: “I wish we could have gotten a few more rebounds down the stretch, at the end of the day we were able to get it done. We have to retool and get some rest. We have another game before we head to the conference tournament.”
With this win, Louisiana Tech ties its all-time series against Liberty at three games each and earns its first-ever win in Lynchburg after previously losing twice there.
The Bulldogs reached double-digit conference wins for their ninth time in thirteen seasons as members of Conference USA and improved their record to 13-1 when scoring over seventy points this season.
Bates’ point total is both his personal best and marks several milestones for Louisiana Tech basketball: most by any Bulldog this season; most since Daniel Batcho scored thirty-eight against Mississippi College in November; second-most ever by a Bulldog in a Conference USA matchup; most by any Bulldog in an away game since Kenneth Lofton Jr.’s thirty-six at NC State in twenty-twenty-one.
Avery Thomas II also played all forty minutes while reaching double figures for his thirteenth time this season—eight times over his last twelve games—while Fenner has now posted double-digit scoring performances across three consecutive contests.
AJ Bates’ four assists bring his season total to one hundred seventy-three—a mark that ties him for tenth-most single-season assists in program history—and he has recorded at least four assists twenty-four times this year.
Melian Martinez extended his streak of games with at least one block to five after registering another rejection against Liberty.
Louisiana Tech will conclude its regular season Saturday against Delaware before heading into postseason play.
