University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
(25) Dayton
Cajuns Hang Tough With 25th-Ranked Flyers
12/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2003
The Cajuns carried a nine-point, 40-31 lead, into the locker room at halftime handing the Flyers just their second halftime deficit of the season.
However, fatigue would catch up to the shorthanded squad in the final 20 minutes of the contest as the shots were hard to come by.
UL Lafayette was held to just 24 percent shooting in the second half (7-of-29) and the Flyers were quick to jump on the boards out-rebounding the Cajuns 23-11 in the final frame.
As a result, UD opened the second stanza on a 14-0 run which helped erase the nine-point deficit and proved to be the difference in a 66-59 victory for the Flyers in the first meeting between the two schools in over 26 years.
With the win, the homestanding Flyers remained undefeated and upped its season record to 7-0. With the loss, the visiting Ragin' Cajuns fell to 1-2 overall this season and 0-2 on the road.
UD placed four players in double-figures scoring led by 18 from Keith Waleskowski. Sean Finn and Mark Jones had 16 apiece while Ramod Marshall scored 10.
Finn completed the double-double collecting a game-high 11 rebounds. As a team UD outrebounded the Cajuns 44-28 with a 33-17 advantage on the defensive glass.
Marshall, held scoreless and to just one field goal attempt in the first half, scored all 10 of his points in the decisive second half including two crucial three-point baskets in the final 1:33 to give the Flyers the lead for good after Brad Boyd tied it for UL Lafayette at 57-57 with 2:02 left.
Boyd led the Cajuns with 20 points, his second straight 20-point performance, making six 3-point baskets. Antoine Landry was a close second with a season-high 19 points.
Laurie Bridges picked up a season-high nine rebounds to lead UL Lafayette on the boards. Boyd dished out a team-high six assists.
Despite allowing 14 consecutive points to open the second half, the Cajuns would regain their composure and fought back to reclaim the lead with a 7-0 run.
Trailing 45-40 with 15:39 remaining, Boyd began the run with a three-point basket and Brian Hamilton and Chris Cameron closed it off with a basket apiece to put the Cajuns out in front 47-45 at the 12:27 mark.
The Flyers would then go inside to Waleskowski, who scored 11 second-half points, to regain the lead. He made back-to-back baskets after the Cajuns took the lead to put UD ahead once more 49-47 with 11:39 left to play.
Louisiana-Lafayette made one more jab at trying to pull off the win. Trailing 55-51 with just under three-minutes left Boyd drained a three-pointer as he was fouled. He was unable to complete the four-point play and the Cajuns were still down one 55-54 with 2:48 left to play.
It was Boyd again who would pull the Cajuns even with his sixth and final three-point basket at the 2:02 mark to tie the game 57-57.
However, Marshall came through with the heroics for UD as the 25th-ranked squad was able to hold off the upset-minded Cajuns.
The Cajuns took the lead early in the game thanks in part to its zone defense which limited the Flyers to outside shots in the early minutes of the contest by denying touches to UD big men Waleskowski and Finn.
UL Lafayette jumped out to a 5-0 lead three minutes into the contest as UD was unable to penetrate the zone and the outside shots were not falling. UD ended the first frame just 2-of-10 from outside the arc while the Cajuns heated it up at 8-of-19.
The Cajuns held the Flyers scoreless for the first 3 ˝ minutes until Waleskowski hit a jumper at the 16:27 mark to trim the lead to 5-2.
Louisiana-Lafayette would stretch the lead to as many as seven at 23-16 on a basket by Bridges with 9:30 remaining before halftime.
A 6-0 run following the Bridges basket pulled the Flyers within one at 23-22 with 8:28 left in the first half and warranted a timeout from UL Lafayette head coach Jessie Evans.
UD was able to take its first lead of the game on a three-point basket by Mark Jones following the seven-minute media timeout.
That lead lasted less than a minute as Landry drilled his third three-point basket of the half to give the Cajuns the lead once more at 29-27 at the 5:20 mark.
The Cajuns zone defense did its job once more down the stretch holding the Flyers to just four points as the UL Lafayette ended the half on an 11-4 run to take a nine-point, 40-31 edge into the locker room. The Cajuns held Marshall, who entered the game averaging 16 points per game, scoreless in the first stanza.
FASTBREAK POINTS: With the loss the Cajuns fell to 1-2 after three games for the third straight season and fifth time in the seven-year tenure of head coach Jessie Evans...Cedric Williams and Chris Williams, both deemed eligible for the game, were both headed to Dayton early Tuesday morning to join the Cajuns but were stranded in Houston due to severe weather and were unable to join their teammates in time for the tip-off...Brad Boyd extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one three-point basket made to 21 straight games with his three-pointer at the 11:21 mark of the first half...Boyd made six 3-point baskets moving him within 64 of setting the school career record and 10 away from 200 in his career...The Cajuns made a season-high 11 3-poniters and extended the team's streak of games with at least one 3-point basket made to 51.
NEXT UP: The Cajuns return home for the first of two December home games on Monday, Dec. 15 against McNeese State. UL Lafayette follows the McNeese State game with a Dec. 17 matchup against the University of Mobile at 7:05 p.m. in the Cajundome for the final home December game.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
