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GAME NOTES: The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs try to break the trend of alternating wins and losses as they welcome the Idaho Vandals to the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston tonight for a Western Athletic Conference battle.

For the last 10 games the Bulldogs have been unable to file back-to-back wins. or even two straight defeats for that matter, and played themselves right out of contention for regular-season honors in the conference. On Thursday night, LaTech entertained Boise State and proceeded to drop a 72-59 decision to what had been the worst team in the league.

Meanwhile, the Vandals have fallen in two straight after putting together a solid run of contests that saw them win four of six. Wednesday night had Idaho dropping in on New Mexico State and leaving with a 74-57 defeat.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, LaTech owns an 8-2 advantage thanks in part to a 77-71 victory in Moscow earlier this season.

The Vandals went from shooting only 32.3 percent from the field in the first half to a mere 29.7 percent after the break, easily pushing the group into the loss column in Las Cruces. Idaho had just two players score in double figures in the miserable effort, as Kyle Barone and Kashif Watson both tallied 10 points, but while the former was doing so on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, the latter made a mere 4-of-15 from the field in the outing. Watson is currently second on the team in scoring with his 10.9 ppg and trailing only Mac Hopson who is responsible for 14.7 ppg and has also delivered on a team- high 131 assists along the way. Steffan Johnson (9.7 ppg) has been the most explosive three-point shooter for the group at 40.4 percent, yet he has somehow found a way to convert a mere 38.6 percent of his field goal attempts at the same time.

For the first half the Bulldogs were at least somewhat respectable on offense, but after the break the team shot only 9-of-31 from the floor and 1-of-6 behind the three-point line in what turned into a 13-point home loss. Jamel Guyton accounted for 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting behind the arc, which means the rest of his teammates combined to miss all 10 of their three-point attempts. Olu Ashaolu chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Magnum Rolle posted six points, 10 boards and four blocked shots. Kyle Gibson, the team's leading scorer on the season with his 19.8 ppg, was credited with just six points on 3-of-11 from the field. Rolle (14.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg) and Ashaolu (10.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg) are generally the horses that carry the action in the paint for the Bulldogs and while both players are shooting at least 53.5 percent from the field, a guy like Ashaolu has hurt himself and the team with just 45.9 percent accuracy at the free-throw line.

With so much left to play for, the Bulldogs cannot allow a home date against a weaker opponent get in their way tonight.