SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Interstat) — A pair of teams riding the momentum of recent wins will clash Thursday night when Louisiana Tech visits Missouri State in a pivotal Conference USA men’s basketball matchup at JQH Arena. Both the Bulldogs (13-10) and Bears (13-10) enter with identical overall records, adding stakes to the league standings. Louisiana Tech is coming off an 87-78 home victory over Sam Houston last Saturday, while Missouri State fell just short in a 79-76 road loss to Liberty the same day. The game features two of the conference’s top performers. Louisiana Tech will lean on forward Kaden Cooper, who is coming off a dominant 16-point, 18-rebound double-double in the win over Sam Houston. His presence on the glass will be critical. Missouri State counters with high-scoring guard Keith Palek, who poured in 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the narrow loss to Liberty. Palek has been on a tear, scoring 20 or more points in four of his last seven games, including a 26-point outing at New Mexico State on Jan. 22. The Bulldogs have shown resilience, winning tight games against Middle Tennessee (59-58) and Delaware (70-68 in OT) this month. However, their road form has been inconsistent within conference play. The Bears have been strong at home in Springfield, boasting a 3-1 record in JQH Arena during CUSA play, with the lone loss coming to Sam Houston on Jan. 28. Their offense runs through Palek, but received a boost from Michael Osei-Bonsu’s 16-point, 9-rebound effort against Liberty. This contest is the first of a regular-season series between the teams, who will meet again in Ruston, Louisiana, on Feb. 26. With the conference tournament seeding taking shape, Thursday’s result will provide a key tiebreaker between two evenly matched squads. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.