Louisiana Tech earns 80-69 win in Conference USA Tournament against Middle Tennessee

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — AJ Bates had 29 points in No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech's 80-69 win over fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.

Louisiana Tech (19-13) plays No. 9 seed Missouri State — which knocked off top-seeded Liberty in another quarterfinal matchup — in the semifinals Friday.

Bates also added six assists and six steals for the Bulldogs. DJ Dudley shot 6 for 12, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 16 points. Avery Thomas shot 5 for 10, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points.

Tre Green led the way for the Blue Raiders (17-15) with 20 points and two steals. Middle Tennessee also got 18 points from Jahvin Carter. Sean Smith also had 10 points and four assists.

Louisiana Tech took the lead for good less than a minute into the game and the score was 39-25 at halftime, with Bates racking up 12 points. Bates scored 17 points down the stretch in the second half to help lead Louisiana Tech to an 11-point victory.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.