RUSTON, La. -- Cordarius Johnson scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Louisiana Tech past Louisiana-Monroe Saturday night 68-52 in nonconference action.

Raheem Appleby added 18 points for Louisiana Tech.

Tied at 26 with three minutes left in the first half, the Bulldogs (5-1) finished out the half on a 10-2 run.

Johnson and Appleby scored 13 points apiece in the first half to help Louisiana Tech lead at halftime 36-28.

The Bulldogs looked to put the game away with a 21-8 run to begin the second half, pushing the lead to 57-36 with nine minutes to play.

Louisiana-Monroe (0-2) answered with a 15-6 run cutting the lead to 12, but that was the closest the Warhawks would get. Louisiana Tech outscored Louisiana-Monroe 5-1 over the last 4 minutes to seal the victory.

Trent Mackey came off the bench to lead the Warhawks with 17 points.