CAJUNS XXX?Feb
2/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CAJUNS TAKE ROAD WIN AT DENVER
Feb. 18, 2002
?DENVER, Colo. – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun basketball team has fought injuries during the season. The Cajuns have battled youth during the season, and they certainly have had endured poor shooting at times.
?But when they play their final regular season game Saturday in the Cajundome, they will be playing for a championship.
?Louisiana-Lafayette got another dominating performance from freshman
Michael Southall, and an unsung hero came off the bench to shine as the Cajuns took a 74-60 Sun Belt Conference victory over Denver Monday night at Magness Arena.
?Southall tied his career-high with 26 points and added 11 rebounds, while sophomore guard
Antoine Landry scored a career-best 20 to set the Cajuns (17-9, 10-4 SBC West) up for an SBC West Division championship game against New Mexico State this weekend.
?Denver (8-18, 3-11 SBC West) was paced by Sherman Rochell, who had 20 points in his final game at home, while B.J. Pratt added 12.
?Southall was 10-of-16 from the field, and Landry helped the rookie with a spectacular 3-point shooting barrage as the Cajuns finished a brutal seven-game, 15-day stretch at a more than respectable 5-2.
?"Anytime we get Mike 16 shots, we feel we will be successful," said head coach Jessie Evans, whose program has won double-digit SBC games for the third straight year. "That was the telling point. We were able to probe their defense and find him and he was able to find the open man and hit some shots as well."
?The game took a dramatic change once Denver big man Brett Starkey got in foul trouble. The Cajuns pounded the ball inside to both Southall and senior forward Darryl Robins (8 total points) after Starkey had to sit with five fouls with 7:23 left in the game.
?With the Cajuns already up four, Louisiana-Lafayette got three straight easy inside buckets and stretched the advantage to double figures. The Cajuns never lost the double-digit edge after the 4:47 mark.
?What also helped throughout the half was the outside shooting of Landry. The diminutive guard got on the court after sophomore guard
Brad Boyd suffered an ankle injury.
He managed to spread out the Pioneer defense by draining four treys overall. In the crucial second half, the New Orleans product had 14 points. His previous career night was a 12-point effort at UALR last year.
?"Antoine has told me for a year and a half that he was capable," Evans said. "It was good to see someone come in and knock down some shots after the injury to Brad. But actually, I was more impressed with Antoine's defense than anything else. He really did well tonight."
?The Cajuns got off to one of their coldest starts of the season. Louisiana-Lafayette made just three of its first 22 shots, as Southall was the only Cajun able to dent the scoring column early. But Denver never could break away and held just a two-point halftime advantage despite shooting 55.6 percent. The Cajuns made nine of their final 13 shots to close at 34.3 percent.
?In the final frame, though, it was a 180-degree turn. Thanks to the inside game, the Cajuns shot 59 percent in the second half, and a rejuvenated defense held the host-Pioneers to a 37 percent clip.
?"I'm sure we are surprising some people," Evans said of his squad having a shot at a division title. "We have worked extremely hard as a staff and as a team to get to this point. Losing our point guard (
Blane Harmon, foot injury) before the season started was tough, but we bounced back and that has been the mark of this team all year. We are not surprised, though. We know we are capable if we put it all together."
Louisiana-Lafayette 74, Denver 60
?LA.-LAFAYETTE (17-9, 10-4 SBC WEST) – Boyd 0-6 2-2 2, Johnson 1-3 0-0 3, Southall 10-16 6-11 26, Washington 1-3 2-2 4, Bridges 2-7 2-3 7, Landry 6-11 4-6 20, Lawrence 0-2 0-0 0, Jupiter 1-3 0-0 0, Robins 4-6 0-0 8, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Kandji 0-0 0-1 0, Byrd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 17-27 74.
?DENVER (8-18, 3-11 SBC WEST) – Rochell 9-15 2-4 20, Carter 2-9 2-4 6, Pratt 5-8 0-0 12, Turner 0-1 0-0 0, Heath 1-1 0-0 3, Richardson 1-4 0-2 2, Warren 1-1 0-0 2, Benzel 2-7 0-1 5, Lay 0-0 0-0 0, Goral 2-5 0-0 5, Starkey 2-3 1-2 5, Ramey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 5-13 60.
?Half – Denver 36, La.-Lafayette 34. 3-point field goals – La.-Lafayette 7-14 (Boyd 0-3, Johnson 1-2, Bridges 1-1, Landry 4-7, Jupiter 1-1), Denver 5-13 (Pratt 2-5, Heath 1-1, Richardson 0-1, Benzel 1-3, Goral 1-2). Fouled out – Starkey. Rebounds – La.-Lafayette 39 (Southall 11), Denver 32 (Carter 8). Assists – La.-Lafayette 20 (Southall 6), Denver 18 (Rochell 6). Total fouls – La.-Lafayette 14, Denver 20. A – 694.
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--LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE--
