University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
South Alabama
Wade's Triples Rally Cajuns Past South Alabama for Sun Belt Road Win
1/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005
MOBILE, Ala. – Tiras Wade made four three-point baskets in the final five minutes of the game rallying Louisiana-Lafayette from a six-point deficit to a 59-56 Sun Belt Conference road victory over South Alabama here Thursday night at the Mitchell Center.
Wade, who led all players with 28 points, began his outburst with the Ragin' Cajuns trailing 51-45 with 5:12 left to play and his team having made just two field goals in the previous nine minutes.
Wade's final triple of the evening which followed after a steal by Orien Greene with the game tied the possession before put the Cajuns up for good 57-54 with 1:35 left to play.
USA had a chance to tie the game on the next possession, but Carlos Smith's attempt in the left right corner spun off the rim and Brian Hamilton grabbed the last of his game-high 13 rebounds.
The Jaguars had forced the Cajuns into a missed shot with 34 seconds left after Greene missed, but Brandon Gordon grabbed the loose ball and stepped on the baseline giving the Ragin' Cajuns the ball back and forcing USA to foul.
Greene was fouled and was forced to shoot his first free throw attempt since the Kansas game on Dec. 11. Greene missed the 1-and-1 opportunity and Gordon nabbed the loose ball.
Following a timeout, the Jaguars went inside for a Daniel Northern layup cutting the lead to 57-56 and forcing the Cajuns to win the game at the free throw line.
Anthony Rhodman was fouled by Richard Law after the inbounds pass. Rhodman made one out of two on the 1-and -1 situation giving Louisiana-Lafayette a 58-56 lead with seven seconds left to play.
The Jaguars had the ball near midcourt with a chance for a last-second winning shot. However, Gordon, not realizing that USA had no timeouts left, signaled for a timeout when he couldn't find an open man on the inbounds pass. Gordon's mishap resulted in a technical foul on USA and gave the Cajuns a chance to create a two-possession game.
Wade missed the first, but converted the second forcing the Jaguars to make a desperation three just to send the game into overtime. The inbounds pass was too long and over the reach of the intended receiver resulting in a steal by Hamilton that allowed the Ragin' Cajuns to run out the clock and sneak away with a crucial road win.
With the win, Louisiana-Lafayette (7-7, 1-1 Sun Belt) won its third straight over the Jaguars overall and second straight at the Mitchell Center.
The Cajuns picked up their first road win of the season on an opponent's “true” homecourt and improved to 2-6 away from home. It was also the first time the Cajuns won a game when trailing at the half.
South Alabama (3-11, 0-3 Sun Belt) lost its seventh straight overall and third straight in Sun Belt play.
Greene took the court for Louisiana-Lafayette for the first time since Dec. 11 at Kansas – his first action after missing six straight games. The senior from Gainesville gave the Cajuns 18 minutes off the bench in the second half handing out four assists and picking up three steals and two rebounds.
Hamilton recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 13 boards. He and Wade combined for 28 of the Cajuns 59 total points.
Louisiana-Lafayette reached double-figures in three-point field goals made for the first time since the season opener. The Cajuns dropped in a season-high 11 triples led by seven from Wade.
USA leading scorers were Richard Law and Mario Jointer who each scored 13 points. Gordon led the Jags with 11 rebounds.
Louisiana-Lafayette rallied from a three-point halftime deficit outscoring USA 12-5 in the first six minutes to take a 38-34 lead. Trailing 34-32, Dwayne Mitchell banked in a three-pointer off glass from the left corner to give UL Lafayette a 35-34 advantage.
On the Cajuns next possession, Hamilton rebounded a missed triple by Greene and dished the ball back onto the perimeter where Wade was left wide open for another three-point basket at 14:43 that pushed the lead to 38-34.
The Cajuns would make just two more field goals until Wade's three-point outburst in the final five minutes. USA took advantage outscoring the visitors 17-7 to take a 51-45 lead with 5:13 left to play.
Wade's first of the final four triples in the last five minutes came on the ensuing possession and cut the Jaguars lead to 51-48.
Ironically, the game may have been decided at the free throw line in the Cajuns favor. Following the three-minute media timeout, Gordon stepped to the line for a two-shout foul and had a chance to extend the Jaguars' 51-48 lead. He missed both freebies at 3:41 and 19 seconds later Wade dialed in from long distance once more to tie the game.
USA answered at 2:57 when Carlos Smith slashed his way through the lane and converted the layup as he was fouled by Chris Cameron. Smith's three-point play gave USA a 54-51 lead.
Wade had an answer on the other end as he hit another triple at 2:31 to tie the score.
A pair of turnovers doomed the Jaguars and threw the momentum to the Cajuns side from there on. Smith stepped out-of-bounds at 2:16 following Wade's three had tied it.
Then after USA forced a missed jumper from Greene on the next possession, Jointer threw an ill-advised bounce pass that was picked off by Greene and give to Wade on the other end for his final three-point field goal of the evening that gave the Cajuns a 57-54 lead.
The Jaguars opened the game 5-of-7 from the field and held a 16-12 lead halfway through the opening half.
Wade's first field goal of the game, a three-pointer at 7:55 cut the USA lead to 18-17. Following a missed three-point try by Carlos Smith on the other end, Mitchell drove inside for a baseline layup that gave the Cajuns their first lead of the game 19-18 at 7:36.
The two teams traded baskets over the next three possessions with a triple by Jeffrey Collins in the left corner at 7:15 giving the hosts the lead again 21-19. Wade answered for Louisiana-Lafayette on the ensuing possession to forge a 21-21 tie.
Jaque Pate found Richard Law open on the right wing on the next trip down the floor and the Jaguars regained the lead 24-21 – a lead the home team would hold on to the remainder of the half.
Wade's basket before the Law triple was Louisiana-Lafayette's final points until a free throw by Hamilton at 1:58 ended a five-minute drought.
Collins' second three-pointer of half gave USA its largest lead of eight points at 29-21 with 2:19 left before the break.
The Cajuns scored the final five points of the half to close the gap to 29-26.
Louisiana-Lafayette returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 15 as the Ragin' Cajuns continue their current three-game road trip in New Orleans against UNO at the Lakefront Arena. Tip-off is 7 p.m. for a rematch of last season's Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game matchup between the two in-state rivals.
Box Score
Louisiana-Lafayette at South Alabama
1/13/05 7:05 p.m. at Mobile, Ala. - Mitchell Center
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 59, SOUTH ALABAMA 56
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (7-7, 1-1
SBC) Wade 9-19 3-4 28; Hamilton 4-9 2-3 10; Mitchell 2-4 0-0
5; Rhodman 1-3 1-2 4; Cameron 2-6 0-0 4; Mouton 1-1 0-0 3;
Ford 1-3 0-2 3; Greene 1-6 0-1 2; James 0-0 0-0 0; Gray 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 21-52 6-12 59.
SOUTH ALABAMA (3-11, 0-3 SBC) Law 4-8 4-4 13; Jointer 4-10
3-6 13; Smith 3-8 3-3 10; Gordon 3-4 1-9 8; Collins 2-5 0-0
6; Northern 2-5 0-0 4; Pate, 1-1 0-0 2; Cowherd 0-1 0-0 0;
Spencer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-42 11-22 56.
Halftime Score: South Alabama 29, Louisiana-Lafayette 26. 3-point goals-Louisiana-Lafayette 11-24 (Wade 7-12; Mouton 1-1; Rhodman 1-3; Mitchell 1-2; Ford 1-1; Gray 0-1; Greene 0-3; Cameron 0-1), South Alabama 7-21 (Collins 2-4; Jointer 2-6; Law 1-4; Gordon 1-1; Smith 1-5; Cowherd 0-1). Fouled out--Louisiana-Lafayette-Mitchell, South Alabama-Jointer. Rebounds-Louisiana-Lafayette 34 (Hamilton 13), South Alabama 32 (Gordon 11). Assists-Louisiana-Lafayette 15 (Mitchell 5), South Alabama 8 (Cowherd 2; Law 2). Total fouls-Louisiana-Lafayette 20, South Alabama 14. A-2712
-Ragin' Cajuns-
