University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
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12/6/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CAJUNS WIN IN BLOWOUT AT NORTH TEXAS ... Dec. 6, 1999
DENTON, Texas -- After enduring a slow start, Louisiana's Ragin'
Cajun basketball team's offense kicked into high gear on the way to a 74-59 victory over
North Texas on Monday at the Super Pit.
Junior guard Blane Harmon led all scorers with 20 points, including a
season-high six 3-pointers, to go with a game-high six
assists. Orlando Butler added 15 points for the Cajuns, while Reggie DeGray and Kendall
Regis poured in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
""Blane obviously got into rhythm for us tonight and good
things started to happen,'' UL Lafayette head coach Jessie Evans
said. ""Kendall Regis was able to give us some excellent play off the bench. He
was in the rigbht area defensively and had some good minutes tonight.''
Regis led a solid defensive effort by the Cajuns who posted nine blocks
in the game and outrebounded UNT 46-42. Regis, DeGray and Thomas each swatted two Eagle
shots apiece, while DeGray posted a career-high eight rebounds.
""The reason we had a couple of blocks tonight was that we
had men in the area to clean it up,'' Evans said. ""That was an
unusual number of blocks for us, but we'll take it."
UNT scored the first seven points of the game, thanks to some poor
shooting early by the Cajuns and a hot touch of their own. Trailing 11-4 at the 14:33 mark
of the first half, the Cajuns proceeded to go on a 28-4 run over the next 7:35 for a 32-15
lead, their biggest of the first half.
""I thought we started out slow,'' Evans said.
""That was one of the things we addressed at halftime and after the game. You
just can't start out like that.'
In the early part of the second half, the Cajuns continued to build
their lead, taking a 52-33 advantage at the 13:19 mark on Billy Jones' jumper.
However, the Green Eagles quickened the pulse rates of the Cajun
coaching staff with a 14-2 run of their own over the next 4:46 to cut the Cajun lead back
down to single digits at 54-47.
Deginald Erskin highlighted the rally with four of his 14 second-half
points. Erskin led UNT with 16 points in the contest with
Chris Davis adding 14 points and Brandon Gilbert scoring 10.
The two teams then traded baskets over a 2:37 span before the Cajuns
put the game away with an 11-0 run over the next 3:40 to put the game away.
After its hot start, the Cajun defense kept the Eagles in check,
allowing them to hit only 22.6 percent from the field in the first half and 33.3 percent
for the entire game, a season low by a UL Lafayette opponent this season.
""We made some improvements against Texas Tech and we
continued to make those improvements tonight,'' Evans said. ""Now we have to
return home and get ready to play what I believe is one of this country's best teams.''
The Cajuns host Southern Mississippi in 7:05 p.m. game on Saturday at
the Cajundome.
