CAJUNS XXX?Jan
1/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CAJUNS UPSET AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Jan. 12, 2001
?MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Just two nights prior, it looked like Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun basketball team had taken a step forward. On Saturday, though, life on the road caught up to the visitors.
?The Cajuns got in foul trouble in the first half, and host-Middle Tennessee capitalized on that and poor Cajun free throw shooting in taking a 69-64 victory at Murphy Center.
?MT senior center Lee Nosse dominated the inside with 25 points and nine rebounds, while William Pippen added 13 as the Blue Raiders (7-8, 2-4 Sun Belt East) avenged last year's 28-point loss at the Cajundome.
?Louisiana-Lafayette junior guard
Anthony Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds, but the Cajuns (8-7, 2-2 SBC) were dominated in the post for the first time in quite some time. The loss comes off the heels of a 63-62 loss at preseason favorite Western Kentucky Thursday.
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Shea Whiting added 10 points, but the Cajuns were plagued with a 9-of-20 night from the charity stripe.
?"The team that makes the plays will always win the game," said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans. "We have to make plays. We have to make free throws. You have to knock them down, and we didn't do that."
?With freshman center Michael Southall in foul trouble throughout, the Blue Raiders gave the Cajuns a dose of their own medicine inside. Nosse had 17 points and four boards in the first half alone, which was keyed by three early fouls by Southall.
?The effort helped MT shoot 46 percent in the first half and 47 percent overall. The percentage came after Louisiana-Lafayette held WKU – one of the league's best shooting teams – to 34 percent two nights ago.
?The Cajuns did shoot 46 percent overall. But after a good first half effort, the team struggled from the foul line. Louisiana-Lafayette, just a 63 percent free throw shooting team coming in, was just 4-of-13 from the line in the second half – including a 1-for-4 effort in the final minute. MT, on the other hand, was 13-of-22 from the line and shot nearly 70 percent.
?"That stat right there is all you need to see," Evans said.
?MT never trailed in the second half but never got a lead bigger than six. With all of the problems, however, Louisiana-Lafayette still had its opportunities late. After Johnson had a dunk with 11 seconds left to cut the lead to 66-64, MT missed the back-end of a one-and-one. The Cajuns trailed by three and could have had a chance to tie, but MT's Bryant Mitchell got the offensive rebound and Pippen made two free throws to cinch it.
?With the game tight late, it was almost easy to forget an interesting scene just under nine minutes left in the game. The Cajuns'
Brad Boyd and MT guard Tommy Gunn got into a jawing contest in the lane. Just before the referees blew the whistle to separate the two, Gunn head-butted the Lafayette native in the nose. Both were given technical fouls, but Gunn was ejected from the game.
?Gunn, who had 15 points on the night, entered the game as MT's leading scorer. But the Blue Raiders had a four-point lead at that point and never relinquished the advantage.
?Louisiana-Lafayette will wrap up a three-game SBC road swing next Saturday at New Mexico State.
Middle Tennessee 69, Louisiana-Lafayette 64
?LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (8-7, 2-2 SBC WEST) – Robins 2-6 0-0 4, Whiting 4-10 2-4 10, Southall 3-4 3-6 9, Johnson 8-12 0-3 17, Boyd 1-4 3-3 6, Landry 3-5 0-0 8, Washington 0-0 0-0 0, Bridges 1-3 0-0 2, Jupiter 0-1 0-0 0, Kandji 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 9-20 64.
?MIDDLE TENNESSEE (7-8, 2-3 SBC EAST) – Jackson 0-0 1-4 1, Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, Nosse 9-15 6-7 25, Gunn 6-11 0-0 15, Wilkes 2-2 0-0 6, Pippen 4-11 3-4 13, Wilkerson 0-2 0-0 0, Parham 1-4 1-2 3, Mitchell 1-3 2-2 4, Humphrey 0-1 0-0 0, White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 13-19 69.
?Halftime – MT 39, La.-Lafayette 33. 3-point field goals – La.-Lafayette 5-14 (Lawrence 1-4, Johnson 1-3, Boyd 1-3, Landry 2-4, Bridges 0-1, Jupiter 0-1), MT 8-15 (Wilkes 2-2, Gunn 3-4, Nosse 1-1, Pippen 2-5, Wilkerson 0-1, Parham 0-1, Humphrey 0-1). Fouled out – Southall. Rebounds – La.-Lafayette 35 (Johnson 8), MT 33 (Nosse 9). Assists – La.-Lafayette 10 (Lawrence 3), MT 13 (Parham 6). Total fouls – La.-Lafayette 17, MT 15. Technical fouls – Boyd, Gunn. Ejections – Gunn. A – 3,012.
--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--
