Louisiana-Lafayette 96, North Texas 78

1/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

CAJUN DUO LIGHTS UP NORTH TEXAS Jan. 24, 2002

?LAFAYETTE – Louisiana-Lafayette had one of its season's best offensive efforts in the second half, as the tandem of Anthony Johnson and freshman Michael Southall took over in leading the host-Cajuns to a 96-78 Sun Belt Conference win over North Texas Thursday night at the Cajundome.

?The duo combined for 59 points, 23 rebounds and nine blocked shots to lift Louisiana-Lafayette (10-7, 4-2 SBC West) into first place in the SBC West Division. Johnson tied a career high with 33 points, while Southall came two blocked shots shy of a triple-double thanks to a 26-point, 16-rebound, eight-swat night. All totals were career bests for the 6-11 center, who set a school record with the block tally.

?Sophomore guard Brad Boyd helped provide most of the offense. The Lafayette native set a Cajundome record with 17 assists, and the St. Thomas More grad came one dish shy of the school mark. Darryl Robins, meanwhile, added 15 points and nine rebounds.

?Chris Davis led the Mean Green (9-9, 4-3 SBC West) with a game-high 28 points. The junior had 16 points in the second half and finished 11-of-20 from the field. Davis was one of four NT players to hit double figures. Jermaine Green had 16 points, Will Smith tallied 10, and Jerome Rogers had 10.

?The Cajuns, though, won the game thanks to a 65 percent shooting mark in the second half. Louisiana-Lafayette pounded the ball inside, as Southall recorded 17 points while adding 10 boards.

?Louisiana-Lafayette trailed 49-44 with 16:31 left. But Southall and Johnson led a 20-4 run over the next five minutes to give the hosts a double-digit lead. The Mean Green got it back to nine twice during the next two minutes, but Boyd hit a trey with 9:20 left, and the Cajuns never surrendered the double-digit edge.

?Robert Jupiter came off the bench to give the Cajuns 12 points (all treys), and Louisiana-Lafayette dominated the boards with a 45-25 advantage. The glass and shooting efforts helped the Cajuns overcome 23 turnovers – including 15 in the first half.

?Louisiana-Lafayette will host Denver at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, while NT travels to New Mexico State for an 8:05 p.m. (CST) tip.

Louisiana-Lafayette 96, North Texas 78

?NT (9-9, 4-3 SBC WEST) – Smith 5-7 2-2 12, Green, J. 6-16 3-6 16, Davis 11-20 4-4 28, Green, L. 1-10 4-4 7, Mangrum 1-3 1-1 3, Rogers 2-9 5-7 10, White 0-1 0-0 0, Hopkins 0-4 0-0 0, Masters 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 26-70 21-26 78.

?LA.-LAFAYETTE (10-7, 4-2 SBC WEST) – Robins 7-9 1-4 15, Johnson 12-17 5-8 33, Southall 10-14 6-8 26, Boyd 2-7 3-4 9, Washington 0-0 0-0 0, Landry 0-3 1-2 1, Lawrence 0-2 0-0 0, Jupiter 4-6 0-0 12, Whiting 0-0 0-0 0, Kandji 0-0 0-0 0, Byrd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-58 16-26 96.

?Half – La.-Lafayette 39, North Texas 38. 3-point field goals – NT 5-24 (Green, J. 1-3, Davis 2-5, Green, L. 1-8, Mangrum 0-1, Rogers 1-6, White 0-1), La.-Lafayette 10-23 (Johnson 4-6, Boyd 2-7, Landry 0-3, Lawrence 0-1, Jupiter 4-6). Fouled out – Masters. Rebounds – NT 25 (Davis, Mangrum 4), La.-Lafayette 45 (Southall 16). Assists – NT 8 (Four with two), La.-Lafayette 28 (Boyd 17). Total fouls – NT 21, La.-Lafayette 18. Technical fouls – Washington. A – 3,479.