University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
McNeese State
McNeese Holds Off Cajuns Rally
11/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2002
The Oliver putback spoiled a valiant Cajuns comeback from an 11-point deficit with 3:48 remaining. Trailing 70-59, Brad Boyd was fouled on a three-point attempt. Boyd made all three freebies, sparking a 12-1 run that gave Louisiana-Lafayette its first lead of the second half 72-71 with 48 seconds left to play.
After two Anthony Johnson free throws gave the Cajuns (1-1) the aforementioned advantage, MSU (2-1) would respond with a layup from Adrian Johnson on its next possession the reclaim the lead 73-72.
Boyd gave the Cajuns the lead back on the next trip down the court, pulling down the offensive rebound off a missed three-point attempt the put the Cajuns back on top 74-73.
After Oliver's putback, the Cajuns called a quick timeout after a quick pass past halfcourt with two seconds remaining. UL Lafayette's attempt to win the game on the final shot was averted when Robert Jupiter's in-bounds pass intended for Boyd hit him in the face and went out-of-bounds, sealing the Cajuns fate.
Boyd led all Cajuns with 24 points and was perfect from the free-throw line (8-of-8). Johnson was the Cajuns second-leading scorer with 21. Senior point guard Kenneth Lawrence added a season-high 12 points.
Oliver led MSU with 18 points and was one of four Cowboys who scored in double digits. MSU shot 51.1 percent from the field (24-of-47) and 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-16). UL Lafayette shot 35.9 percent for the game and struggled from three-point range, going 7-of-27 (25.9 percent).
The start of the game was the exact opposite of the Cajuns sprint out of the gates at Mississippi State on Saturday where UL Lafayette opened with an 8-0 splurge.
UL Lafayette found themselves down 9-0 after the first three minutes. Cold shooting and turnovers kept the Cajuns off the board. An Anthony Johnson slam dunk at 16:38 got the Cajuns on the board for the first time. The Cowboys responded on their next possession with a basket from Greg Tucker at 15:59 to grab an 11-2 lead.
The Cajuns rallied, using an 8-0 run to pull within one at 11-10 with 12:25 remaining in the first half following Brad Boyd's first three-point basket of the evening. MSU would extend the lead back to nine points with an 8-0 run of their own over the following three minutes.
Louisiana-Lafayette grabbed its first lead of the game on a Boyd three-pointer at 1:51 that gave the Cajuns a brief 32-31 advantage. The Cowboys would regain the lead on free throws by Williams and Farmer and went to the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
The Cowboys opened the second half on a 6-0 run on three-point baskets from Greg Tucker and Eldridge Lewis to pull out in front 40-32. The Cajuns responded with a 8-0 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 15:36 left in the game.
MSU would then use a 14-4 run over the next three minutes to take their first double-digit lead of the game 54-44 with 12:29 remaining in the game.
The two teams would exchange baskets from there on until Louisiana-Lafayette made its run in the final three minutes.
The loss snapped a nine-game win streak for the Cajuns against the Cowboys.
UP NEXT: The Ragin' Cajuns will take the next 10 days off for final examinations. UL Lafayette will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 8 in a 2 p.m. game at Birmingham-Southern College. It will be the final game of a three-game road trip to begin the 2002-03 regular season for the Cajuns. Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series with BSC 3-1, winning last year at the Cajundome 84-72 on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2001.
-Ragin' Cajuns
