RUSTON, La. -- Raheem Appleby scored 23 points on Tuesday night, including three 3-pointers, and Louisiana Tech beat McNeese State 64-50.

The lead changed hands four times until Kenneth Smith made a layup at 8:09 in the first half to put Louisiana Tech (9-3-) up 22-21. Appleby hit a 3-pointer and a dunk to make it 27-23, then hit a jumper with 3 seconds to go and Louisiana Tech led 39-30 at halftime. Appleby, the team's leading scorer with an average of 16.1 points per game, had 19 points in the half.

Lousiana Tech went on a 9-1 run to open the second half, then pulled away, getting good penetration into the paint -- Michale Kyser made two dunks and Cordarius Johnson threw one down.

Kyser scored 14 points and the Bulldogs outshot McNeese State (2-8) 38.3 percent from the field to 33.3 percent.

Ledrick Eackles led the Cowboys with 11 points.