Louisiana Tech 81, New Mexico St. 72

Dec 31, 2012, 10:38 pm

RUSTON, La. -- Alex Hamilton hit 10 of 10 from the foul line and led Louisiana Tech with a career-high 20 points as the Bulldogs purged recent demons with an 81-72 victory over New Mexico State Monday night.

Louisiana State had lost seven straight in the Western Athletic Conference rivalry, including last year's conference championship game.

The Aggies (6-8, 0-2) pulled to 63-61 with 13:49 left before Hamilton scored eight points -- including five straight -- during an 11-4 run to go up 74-65.

Hamilton, a true freshman, saw expanded action for the second consecutive game after scoring eight points in 21 minutes against Denver Saturday.

The Bulldogs (11-3, 2-0) were backed by Brandon Gibson's 15 points and 14 from Kenyon McNeail.

Daniel Mullings paced the Aggies with 21 points.

New Mexico State entered hitting 30 percent from 3-point range, but made just 1 of 12 from deep Monday.