SOUTHALL LEADS CAJUN PAST ASU?Feb

2/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

SOUTHALL LEADS CAJUNS PAST ASU...Feb. 14, 2002

?LAFAYETTE – Louisiana-Lafayette freshman center Michael Southall had a test Thursday when he was matched up with a big man for the first time in a while. And the rookie passed with flying colors.

?The West Salem, Wis., product tied his own school record with eight blocked shots and added 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Cajuns to a 53-50 win over Arkansas State in Sun Belt Conference action at the Cajundome.

?Junior guard Anthony Johnson led the Cajuns (15-9, 8-4 SBC West) with 13 points and kept his squad ahead with some key free throws as Louisiana-Lafayette improved to 10-1 at home this year.

?ASU center Jason Jennings paced the Indians (13-14, 4-8 SBC East) with a game-high 15 points. He also added six blocked shots as the two big men combined for 14 on the night.

?Louisiana-Lafayette, which improved to 5-0 in SBC home tilts, never trailed on the night but never got the lead to double figures. What figured to be a matchup of the league's top two big men was actually just that.

?Jennings, a 7-0 fifth-year senior, had his way early – scoring six of the Indians' first 10 points. He scored 11 first-half points and had three blocked shots. But Southall held his own – scoring eight points and tallying three swats in the first half.

?Despite not getting a rest in the second half, Southall continued his strong night defensively. The 6-11 standout had five blocked shots – including a big swat that denied Kolin Weaver's 3-point attempt that would have tied the game with under four minutes left.

?After the Cajuns had a 47 percent shooting effort in the first half, the hosts cooled off to a 31 percent clip in the final frame. ASU, though, shot 34 percent in both halves and got to the line just 17 times on the night.

?Louisiana-Lafayette was 14-for-17 from the charity stripe in the second half alone. The Cajuns made just two field goals in the final 14:15 of the game.

?Despite its shooting problems, ASU nearly got even late. After Jon Beck (12 points) hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half, the Indians cut the lead to three. Johnson hit two free throws with 11 second left to push the advantage to five, but ASU answered quickly when Jonathan Reed hit a trey.

?The Cajuns' Laurie Bridges made the second free throw of a one-and-one, but ASU's last-second desperation shot from midcourt fell short.

?Louisiana-Lafayette, playing their fifth game in 11 days, will hit the floor again when they host Arkansas-Little Rock at 7:05 p.m. Saturday. ASU will continue the road swing at New Mexico State Saturday.

Louisiana-Lafayette 53, Arkansas State 50

?ARKANSAS STATE (13-14, 4-8 SBC EAST) – Weaver 1-9 1-2 3, Jennings 6-13 3-5 15, Bragg 0-5 0-0 0, Williams 4-5 2-2 11, Brown 0-4 1-2 1, Beck 4-5 0-0 12, Reed 2-7 0-0 5, Adams 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 18-52 8-13 50.

?LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (15-9, 8-4 SBC WEST) – Kandji 0-2 0-0 0, Southall 4-9 4-5 12, Boyd 3-6 2-3 10, Washington 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 3-9 7-9 13, Lawrence 0-1 0-0 0, Bridges 2-4 3-4 7, Jupiter 0-1 0-0 0, Robins 2-4 1-2 5, Whiting 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 16-40 19-25 53.

?Half – La.-Lafayette 27, ASU 21. 3-point field goals – ASU 6-18 (Weaver 0-5, Bragg 0-2, Williams 1-2, Brown 0-1, Beck 4-5, Reed 1-3), La.-Lafayette 2-9 (Boyd 2-4, Johnson 0-3, Lawrence 0-1, Jupiter 0-1). Fouled out – none. Rebounds – ASU 35 (Weaver, Brown 6), La.-Lafayette 25 (Southall 8). Assists – ASU 11 (Williams 7), La.-Lafayette 10 (Boyd 5). Total fouls – ASU 19, La.-Lafayette 14. Technical fouls – ASU bench. A – 3,155.

--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--