Meeting in Ruston for the first time since 1972, Georgia Southern men's basketball (6-5) saw Louisiana Tech (9-2) use a second-half surge to take the Eagles down 77-63 on Friday.
Both teams struggled to score in the first few minutes, but the Eagles grabbed the early 5-4 lead on the strength of Nakavieon White's first three-ball of the day. Micah Smith knocked down his first career three at 12:48 to make it 18-11.
This was the largest lead of the night for the visitors, but the team continued to hold its advantage late in the first. Tied at 23, Eren Banks hit a three to take the lead back - furthered to six on a steal and slam dunk by Bradley Douglas at 2:12.
The lead shrunk to two at half as the Eagles led 35-33. Douglas was the first on the squad to reach double figures.
Out of half, the Eagles continued to hold the lead after White found Collin Kuhl for a lay-in to make it 43-39. The Bulldogs ran back to tie it at 46 with a shade over 13 minutes remaining.
After Douglas converted an and-one opportunity, the Bulldogs hit a three at 10:06 to take their first lead since early in the second half, and over the ensuing five minutes, the well dried up for the Eagles - LT went on an 11-0 run to firmly control the game.
GS did not make it any closer for the rest of the contest, falling to 6-5 after a 77-63 loss.
Douglas (20) became the first Eagle with consecutive 20-point games this season, doing so on 8-14 shooting. White (15) and Banks (10) joined him in double figures, with White also grabbing a team-best seven boards.
The underclassmen in addition to Banks had solid nights, with Smith tying a career-high with seven points and fighting for four boards. Kuhl had four points, three rebounds and two assists to fill the stat sheet.
The Eagles close this part of the non-conference schedule with a matchup against Gardner-Webb at home on Tuesday.