Cajuns at Texas Tech
12/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CAJUNS FIGHT MISTAKES IN LOSS AT TEXAS TECH
Dec. 17, 2001
LUBBOCK, Texas – Early mistakes, foul trouble and a fundamentally sound opponent were the obstacles Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun basketball team faced Monday night at the impressive United Spirit Arena.
Texas Tech dominated the free throw line, the rebounding and the all-important scoreboard in handing the visiting Cajuns an 89-72 loss in front of an announced crowd of 13,713 fans.
The Red Raiders (8-1) got 25 points and six offensive rebounds from center Andy Ellis while Kasib Powell added 18 as the hosts took its fifth consecutive win. Junior college transfer Pawel Storozynski tallied 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Their efforts helped TTU out-rebounded the Cajuns 40-31 (17-8 offensive).
Guards
Brad Boyd and
Antoine Landry each paced the Cajuns (5-4) with 11. The loss snaps a three-game win streak for Louisiana-Lafayette.
Louisiana-Lafayette was hampered by foul trouble, as well as the turnover bug. Texas Tech, meanwhile, was the recipient. The Red Raiders made 34 free throws overall while Louisiana-Lafayette made just 10, and TTU had 25 points off 23 Cajun turnovers.
The Cajuns committed 15 miscues in the first half, which led to 11 first half points by TTU and a 39-24 halftime deficit. The team was also fighting three fouls each to top scorers
Anthony Johnson and Michael Southall.
The duo, which was combining to average 26 points per game entering the game, had just five points at the break. They combined for just 13 overall.
“We're just not a good basketball team when Michael is not on the floor,” said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans of his freshman, who fouled out with 7:58 left in the game. “He relieves a lot of pressure off our perimeter players, because our opponent's defense can't guard them like they want to.”
The Cajuns did get off to one of their best scoring starts of the season. A quick 3-pointer by Landry gave the visitors a 3-0 lead, and Louisiana-Lafayette was down just 12-10 nearly seven minutes into the contest.
However the Cajuns started to fight the whistles, as Johnson and Southall each picked up two fouls near the 11:00 minute mark. Having its top two scorers on the bench hindered the Cajuns, as they scored just 14 points the rest of the half.
The Red Raiders, meanwhile, took full advantage. Using a commanding 23-16 rebounding edge (11-4 offensive), TTU was 13-of-16 from the free throw line and used a 10-2 run midway through the half in taking a double-digit advantage
In the second half, the Cajuns got legendary TTU head coach Bob Knight angered a few times. Thanks to near 51 percent shooting, the Cajuns trimmed down a 20-point deficit to 11 late in the game thanks largely to the hustling efforts of Emanuel Washington (season-high nine points).
But in the end the turnovers, along with the 30 total fouls (Southall, Johnson and
Shea Whiting each fouled out) provided the outcome.
“I thought we came out with a lot of intensity and we were focused – which I was really proud of,” Evans said. “If we don't make the early mistakes and get in foul trouble, it could have been a different game. Right now, we just don't have enough quality depth in the middle to deal with foul trouble.”
Louisiana-Lafayette, which shot 50 percent for just the second time this year, will get a holiday break for a while. The Cajuns will not be in action unitl the Arizona State Holiday Classic Dec. 28 and 29 in Tempe, Ariz. The squad will face Big 10 member Northwestern in the first round.
Texas Tech 89, Louisiana-Lafayette 72
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (5-4) – Robins 4-7 0-0 8, Johnson 1-5 2-2 4, Southall 3-5 3-4 9, Landry 4-7 1-1 11, Lawrence 3-8 1-2 7, Boyd 4-7 0-0 11, Washington 3-3 2-5 9, Bridges 0-2 1-2 1, Jupiter 0-3 0-0 0, Whiting 5-6 0-0 10, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Kandji 0-0 0-0 0, Byrd 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-55 10-16 72.
TEXAS TECH (8-1) – Storozynski 5-9 4-6 14, Powell 5-13 8-10 18, Ellis 7-14 10-13 25, Emmett 0-5 0-0 0, Chavis 1-5 0-0 3, Shropshire 0-0 0-0 0, Doudney 2-4 0-0 5, Marshall 0-1 1-2 1, Ross 4-7 4-4 12, Cassidy 0-0 0-0 0, Valdez 2-2 7-9 11, Arenas 0-0 0-0 0.
Halftime – TTU 39, Louisiana-Lafayette 24. 3-point field goals – Louisiana-Lafayette 6-15 (Landry 2-3, Lawrence 0-3, Boyd 3-6, Washington 1-1, Jupiter 0-2), Texas Tech 3-14 (Powell 0-2, Ellis 1-2, Emmett 0-1, Chavis 1-5, Doudney 1-3, Ross 0-1). Fouled out – Southall, Johnson, Whiting. Rebounds – Louisiana-Lafayette 31 (Robins, Johnson 5), Texas Tech 40 (Storozynski 9). Assists – Louisiana-Lafayette 15 (Lawrence 4), Texas Tech 18 (Valdez 5). Total fouls – Louisiana-Lafayette 30, Texas Tech 16. Attendance – 13,713.
