University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Middle Tennessee
Cajuns Move One Step Closer To the "Big Dance"
3/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Monday, March 8, 2004
UL Lafayette got off to a running start in the first half and led by double-digits at the break. The hot-shooting Blue Raiders rallied to cut the deficit to one point with 5:44 to play in regulation, but the Cajuns turned to their defense, which forced 20 MT turnovers, and never relinquished the lead.
“This was the type of game we anticipated,” said UL Lafayette coach Jessie Evans. “We knew going in we were going to have to play 40 minutes tonight to win. Both teams were after the prize, which is the championship game tomorrow.”
With the win, the Ragin' Cajuns (19-8) advanced to Tuesday's championship game at 8 p.m., against the Arkansas-Little Rock-New Orleans semifinal winner. The contest will be aired live on ESPN2.
Louisiana-Lafayette advances to its fourth championship under head coach Jessie Evans and sixth since joining the Sun Belt. The Cajuns last appearance came in 2002 in New Orleans when Western Kentucky posted a 76-70 victory.
The Cajuns will be looking for their first tournament title since 2000 when Louisiana-Lafayette defeated South Alabama in Little Rock, Ark., to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
UL Lafayette forward Brian Hamilton led the way with a team-high 17 points and was 8-of-9 from the field.
Guard Brad Boyd had 14 points (four 3-point field goals) while Orien Greene had 13 and Antoine Landry 12.
UL Lafayette collected 14 steals with Greene picking up a team-best four. The Cajuns had three critical steals in the final four minutes which helped stretched the lead back to eight points with 2:28 left to play.
“In the second half, we had an
11-point lead, but I knew it was going to be a game,”
Evans said. “Middle (Tennessee) would not be denied.
They fought, but I felt we dug in defensively to get
some stops, and then made some big baskets.”
Middle Tennessee (17-12) was paced by senior guard Tommy Gunn, who had a game-high 20 points. Marcus Robinson added 13 points and nine rebounds while Michael Cuffee contributed 15 points.
The Blue Raiders shot 58 percent from the field, including 8-of-14 from 3-point land. The Cajuns countered with its defense creating 12 first-half turnovers to help offset the MT accuracy.
It was Greene who drove the lane for a crucial layup at 5:21 that increased the Cajuns lead to 60-57.
Leading 61-57 with just under four minutes to go, Laurie Bridges stole the ball away from Gunn. After a missed dunk by Dwayne Mitchell on the other end of the turnover, MT had a chance to pull closer.
However, a missed jumper by
Robinson on the other end gave the ball back to the
Cajuns. Greene responded with his third 3-point basket
of the night to increase the lead to 64-57.
On the ensuing possession the Cajuns defense came up with the first of two critical stops in the final three minutes. Hamilton picked the pocket of MT's Bryan Smithson, for one of his six turnovers on the evening, which led to a free throw from Mitchell at 2:28 that gave the Cajuns an eight point advantage.
“We really got some pressure on the ball,” said senior guard Antoine Landry. “Once we did that, we were able to create some turnovers and get some transition baskets to put ourselves back up.”
The Blue Raiders got a triple from Smithson on the next possession to pull within five points with 1:39 left to play.
UL Lafayette was able to roll off 53 seconds thanks in part to an offensive rebound by Hamilton off a missed three-point attempt by Laurie Bridges. Hamilton kicked it back out to Boyd in the backcourt where he was fouled by Robinson.
Boyd made the first of five Cajun free throws down the stretch as Louisiana-Lafayette clinched the game.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored the game's first five points and broke open and 8-4 game with a 13-3 run that gave the top seed a 21-7 lead with 12:58 left to play in the first half.
Middle Tennessee worked its way back within nine points when a layup by Robinson made it 35-26 at the 4:35 mark.
After a Hamilton freebie put the
Cajuns on top 10 the Blue Raiders pulled within eight
points and two free throws from Cuffee.
Two possessions later, Boyd knocked down a three-pointer in the left corner that put the Cajuns up 39-28.
Landry opened the second half with a triple that put the Cajuns back on top by 14 points.
UL Lafayette would then go scoreless for the next three minutes as MT scored seven unanswered to close the gap to 44-37 at 16:05.
The Cajuns worked the lead back to double digits, getting three-point baskets from Boyd and Landry that gave UL Lafayette a 52-41 edge with 14:03 remaining.
The Blue Raiders worked their way back into the contest using a 16-6 run over the next nine minutes which included a stretch of four minutes where the Cajuns went scoreless.
That's when the defense took over and the Cajuns sealed their fourth straight victory.
GAME NOTES:
• With its semifinal victory over Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette has now advanced to the Sun Belt Tournament championship game for the sixth time, and the fourth time under head coach Jessie Evans.
• UL Lafayette is now 18-4 when leading at the half.
• Senior guard Brad Boyd moved into second place in the Sun Belt record books for career three-point field goals. He now has 266 career 3-pointers which passes B.J. Pratt's 265.
• The last time the Cajuns played a SBC Tourney title game in E.A. Diddle Arena was 1994. Then-Southwestern Louisiana would win the game to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Cajuns moved within one win of 20 for the third consecutive season.
• UL Lafayette never trailed in the game and has yet to trail in 40 minutes of action in two tournament games. Against South Alabama in the quarterfinals, the game was tied, but the Cajuns never lost the lead.
• The win was the Cajuns third straight over Middle Tennessee.
• With his second assist, Brad Boyd picked up his 100th of the season marking the second time in his career he had 100 in a season (had 110 as a sophomore in 2001-02).
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
