National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisiana Tech 79, Georgia 71
When: 11:00 AM ET, Saturday, March 22, 2014
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
Officials: # James Barker, # Rick Crawford, # Jeb Hartness
Attendance: 3692

Louisiana Tech 79, Georgia 71: Four players scored in double figures, led by Alex Hamilton's 20 points, as Louisiana Tech survived a late rally by host Georgia in an all-Bulldogs matchup in the second round of the NIT.

Chris Anderson had 18 points and eight rebounds while Cordarius Johnson scored 16 and was 6-of-7 from the field - 3-of-3 from long range - for third-seeded Louisiana Tech (29-7), which will face Georgetown or Florida State in the quarterfinals. Kenyon McNeail also made three 3-pointers and finished with 14 points while Michale Kyser recorded seven blocks for seventh-seeded Louisiana Tech, which led by 19 points at the half before holding on down the stretch.

No. 2 Georgia (20-14) was led by J.J. Frazier's 15 points but shot only 14-of-23 from the foul line and committed 19 turnovers. Charles Mann added 13 points for Georgia.

Louisiana Tech dominated the first half, making seven of its 12 3-point attempts and forcing 13 turnovers en route to a 46-27 lead at intermission. Louisiana Tech jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 18-2 before later making five straight 3-pointers - the first three by McNeail and the last two by Anderson - to open up a 37-13 advantage with eight minutes to play in the half.

Georgia went on a 15-4 run throughout the latter portion of the second half and sliced its deficit down to 62-55 with 4 1/2 minutes left before Louisiana Tech's next three possessions featured two free throws by Hamilton, a dunk by Anderson and a 3-pointer by Kenneth Smith to push the margin back to 13. Georgia continued to hang tough, closing to within 75-71 on Frazier's banked-in 3-pointer with about 15 seconds left before Hamilton made two free throws and Georgia missed a 3-pointer on the other end.

GAME NOTEBOOK: By halftime, Louisiana Tech already had three players in double figures - Johnson (12 points), McNeail (11) and Anderson (10). ... Georgia committed 42 turnovers in its two NIT games, with Mann accounting for 14 of those. ... Georgia finished with a 40-30 rebounding advantage over Louisiana Tech, which entered ranked 15th in the nation on the boards.
Top Game Performances
 
Louisiana Tech   Georgia
Alex Hamilton 20 Scoring J.J. Frazier 15
Kenneth Smith 4 Assists Cameron Forte 2
Chris Anderson 8 Rebounds Charles Mann 6
Alex Hamilton 7 Free Throws Made Charles Mann 5
Alex Hamilton 3 Steals Charles Mann 2
Michale Kyser 7 Blocks Tim Dixon 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Louisiana Tech 79 47.3 9-22 18-26 11 29 8 13 14
Georgia 71 45.6 5-12 14-23 8 36 5 7 19