University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
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(12) Mississippi State
Boyd and Johnson Lead Cajuns Upset of No. 12 Mississippi State
11/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002
The win is Louisiana-Lafayette's first over a ranked team since a 87-83 win over Oklahoma on March 20, 1992 at the NCAA West Regional in Tempe, Ariz., and the first season-opening road win since Nov. 24, 1989 when UL Lafayette downed Ole Miss 94-83 in Jackson, Miss.
With the Cajuns trailing 69-68 with just under four minutes to play, Boyd drilled his eighth three pointer of the night with 3:25 remaining in the game to give the Cajuns the lead at 71-69. UL Lafayette would not relinquish that lead.
The Bulldogs would tie the score though at 71-71 on two Derrick Zimmerman free throws at the 2:07 mark. As he did all night long, Boyd made another impressive three pointer with 1:14 left and gave the Cajuns lead for good at 74-71.
Clutch free throw shooting by Anthony Johnson, who was the team's second leading scorer with 26, down the stretch sealed the win for the Cajuns. Zimmeran pulled MSU (0-1) back within two points at 78-76 on a jumper with four seconds left.
Chris Cameron made one of two free throws with 2.4 seconds left on the clock and a last second desperation heave by the Bulldogs fell short at the buzzer.
Boyd finished the night 12-of-24 from the field and 9-of-18 from three-point range. His nine three point shots are the most ever against a MSU team and set a Humphrey Coliseum record. The Cajuns were 14-for-32 on the night as a team from beyond the arc, which tied a Humphrey Coliseum mark.
Chris Cameron had a double-double in his first regular season game in a Cajuns uniform as he tallied 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, five on the offensive glass.
UL Lafayette played the final 32 minutes of the contest without starting point guard Kenneth Lawrence who went out in the first half with a stinger in his neck. The North Little Rock, Ark., native returned to the arena after being checked out at a local hospital but remained on the bench.
The Cajuns jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead on their first three possessions of the game thanks to the hot hand of Boyd.
Boyd opened the scoring with his first three pointer of the evening 28 seconds into the game. On UL Lafayette's next possession, Boyd put back a missed three-point attempt from Anthony Johnson for a quick basket and a 5-0 lead. Fifteen seconds later Boyd nailed his second shot from beyond the arc.
Johnson's first three point basket of the game at 14:20 gave the Cajuns their first double-digit lead of the game, 17-7.
The Cajuns lead grew as large as 12 points at 23-11 with 10:13 remaining in the first half and they maintained the lead until 5:07 to play in the first half.
The Bulldogs used a 12-1 run over the next five-plus minutes to take their first lead of the game 25-24 at the 5:07 mark of the first half.
The two teams would trade points as the lead changed hands five times over the next three minutes. MSU regained the lead, 32-31, on a Derrick Zimmerman dunk at 1:31 and retained the lead at the break 34-33.
The Cajuns will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 27 in a 7 p.m. game with in-state rival McNeese State in Lake Charles, La.
CAJUNS IN SEASON OPENERS: Saturday's game with Mississippi State opened the 91st season in school history and sixth under head coach Jessie Evans. UL Lafayette is now 4-2 in season openers under coach Evans and has won three straight. The last time the Cajuns had won a season-opening game on the road they were in the state of Mississippi. UL Lafayette defeated Ole Miss 79-76 Nov. 24, 1989 in Jackson, Miss.
STROLLING DOWN MEMORY LANE: Second-year assistant coach Eddie Vaughn certainly enjoyed the Cajuns visit to Starkville. For Vaughn it was a chance to catch up with old friends from his previous time spent at Mississippi State. Vaughn served as head coach for the Bulldogs women's basketball team during the 1984-85 season. He wasn't shy to tell members of the team's travel party historical details of the MSU campus or of his ventures while living in the Starkville area.
SHORTHANDED: Louisiana-Lafayette made the trip to Starkville with only 10 players dressed out allowing the Cajuns to go only five deep off the bench. A couple of guys eligible to play but did not travel included Antoine Landry (ankle sprain), Robert Jupiter (personal reasons) and Chris Cucchira (will probably redshirt '02-03 season). Also not making the trip were Laurie Bridges, Michael Southall and Cedric Williams, all of whom are academically ineligible until the end of the Fall 2002 semester final exams.
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS: Senior forward Anthony Johnson scored 26 points moving him 139 points away from 1,000 in his career at UL Lafayette. When he does reach 1,000 points, he will become the 34th player in school history to do so.
UP NEXT: The Ragin' Cajuns will continue their current three-game road trip to open the 2002-03 regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 27 against McNeese State at 7 p.m. in Lake Charles, La. The Cajuns and Cowboys will convene on the hardcourt for the 77th time since the series began in 1951 and for the fifth straight year. UL Lafayette leads the all-time series 48-28 and has won all five meetings between the two schools during the Jessie Evans era.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
