RUSTON, La. -- — DJ Dudley led Louisiana Tech with 27 points and Will Allen made a go-ahead layup while being fouled with eight seconds left as the Bulldogs defeated Missouri State 72-70 on Thursday night.

Dudley shot 10 of 19 from the field, including 3 for 9 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 5 from the line for the Bulldogs (16-12, 9-8 Conference USA). Allen scored 13 points while shooting 4 for 8, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc, and added eight rebounds and three steals. Jaylen Fenner went 4 of 9 from the field (2 for 5 from 3-point range) to finish with 12 points.

Keith Palek III led the way for the Bears (13-15, 7-10) with 29 points and six rebounds. Missouri State also got 14 points and three steals from Kobi Williams. Michael Osei-Bonsu also had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The loss is the sixth straight for the Bears.

Dudley scored 12 points in the first half and Louisiana Tech went into halftime trailing 38-37. Dudley led Louisiana Tech with 15 points in the second half.

------

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