University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Looking For Continued Success at Home
2/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Cajuns
Looking For Continued Success at Home
Louisiana-Lafayette
opens its four-game homestand Thursday, Feb. 10 against
South Alabama
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005
Cajuns Look For Continued Success at Home...
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team may trail Sun Belt West Division leader Denver by two games (actually one in the loss column, but DU holds the tiebreaker with season sweep), but the Ragin' Cajuns are about to begin a four-game homestand at the CAJUNDOME – a place where the program has won 25 of the last 28 Sun Belt games contested in it – as the race for the division's No. 1 seed comes to a close.
While the Cajuns enjoy four straight home games over the next week, Denver must play three of its next four outings on the road with visits to Western Kentucky, North Texas and New Mexico State.
Louisiana-Lafayette (13-8, 7-2 Sun Belt) will open its current four-game homestand, which will mark the final four home games of the 2004-05 season, on Thursday, Feb. 10 against SBC West Division rival South Alabama. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The Cajuns are coming off of a 79-72 loss last Saturday in Denver which put the squad in the predicament it currently faces. Louisiana-Lafayette committed a Sun Belt-high 21 turnovers against the Pioneers and once again had no answer for DU's Rodney Billups (15 assists) and Yemi Nicholson (28 points, 11 rebounds). The loss was the squad's first since falling to Denver 72-66 on Jan. 8 and snapped a season-high and Robert Lee-era best seven-game win streak.
Louisiana-Lafayette has won its last four games at the CAJUNDOME since the loss to Denver on Jan. 8. Since the 1999-2000 season, the Cajuns have lost just six home Sun Belt games.
Despite the loss to Denver, the Cajuns have won 10 of their last 13 games since the N.C. State loss (Dec. 15) dropped the team to 3-5. The recent seven-game win streak began with a 59-56 win over South Alabama in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 13 and helped Louisiana-Lafayette avoid a 0-2 start in league play.
South Alabama (6-14, 3-6 Sun Belt) has split its last six games since the two teams met in January. During that stretch, the Jaguars picked up a road win at Middle Tennessee, took Western Kentucky to overtime, a five-point loss to Denver and a four-point loss to SBC East Division contender Arkansas-Little Rock. The Cajuns certainly can't afford to overlook the Cajuns with an always intense meeting against UNO awaiting them on Saturday.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 4-1 at home in Sun Belt play while South Alabama is 1-3 on the road.
At Home in the 'Dome...
Opened in time for the 1985-86 season…First game was played Nov. 22, 1985 against Georgia (lost 75-78)…Replaced Blackham Coliseum, which served as the home of Ragin' Cajuns basketball from 1950-1984…This season marks the 20th season of play at the Cajundome…To date, Louisiana-Lafayette has posted a 210-72 record (.745) within the friendly confines…Over the last five-plus seasons, Louisiana-Lafayette has posted a 60-9 (.870) record in the facility…Played host to the 1998 and 1999 Sun Belt Tournaments and will host of the 2007 Sun Belt Tournament…UL Lafayette has won 39 of the last 43 games contested in the Cajundome and 25 of the last 28 Sun Belt games…The Cajuns have lost just six Sun Belt games at the 'Dome since the 1999-2000 season (36-6 record).
The Series – Louisiana-Lafayette leads 20-16 (9-7 in Lafayette)...
Thursday's game marks the 37th meeting all-time between the Cajuns and Jaguars, second of two scheduled regular season meetings this season between the Sun Belt West Division rivals, 16th in the CAJUNDOME and 17th in the city of Lafayette.
Louisiana-Lafayette has won eight (8) of the last 11 meetings overall and leads the all-time series 20-16.
Louisiana-Lafayette leads the series 17-10 in Sun Belt regular season play while the Jaguars hold a 3-2 edge in Sun Belt Tournament play. In CAJUNDOME meetings, the Cajuns hold a slim 8-7 edge. Since the 1999-2000 season, USA has won three of the last five meetings in the 'Dome including a 76-73 victory in last season's meeting on Jan. 15, 2004.
All five regular season meetings since John Pelphrey took over at South Alabama in 2002-03 have been decided by single digits including three decided by four points or less.
The visiting team has won the last three meetings. The last time a home team won and Cajuns-Jaguars game was Feb. 6, 2003 when Louisiana-Lafayette topped South Alabama 67-60 in the CAJUNDOME.
The Cajuns have won the last three meetings overall, but the Jaguars own the last victory in the CAJUNDOME posting a 76-73 victory on Jan. 15, 2004.
Louisiana-Lafayette's current three-game win streak over USA is one win shy of tying the school record for longest win streak in the series – then-USL won four straight over USA during the 1991-92/1992-93 regular seasons.
The Cajuns and Jaguars met in the 2000 Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship game in Little Rock, Ark., with a Lonnie Thomas bank shot with one second remaining giving UL Lafayette a 51-50 win and its first NCAA appearance under then-head coach Jessie Evans. Last season, the Cajuns and Jaguars met in the Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinals with Louisiana-Lafayette posting an 84-58 rout in the quarterfinals en route to the tournament title - the Cajuns 26 point margin of victory was the team's largest in the series and ended a string of five straight single-digit margins.
Cajuns Most Recently...Lost at Denver 79-72
DENVER (Feb. 5, 2005) – Tied 67-67 with 5:56 remaining, the Cajuns scored just two baskets the remainder of the game in being defeated by co-Sun Belt West Division leader Denver 79-72 last Saturday at Magness Arena.
As they had all game, Yemi Nicholson and Erik Benzel answered for the Pioneers, propelling DU to a 72-67 lead with under five minutes to play.
After a triple from Orien Greene cut the Cajuns deficit to two points, Nicholson added three points over two possessions to boost DU's lead back to five.
Mitchell's tip-in cut the score to 75-72 with 1:55 to play, but the Cajuns would not score again in the contest. Turnovers cost the Cajuns, as UL committed 21 miscues.
Nicholson led all players with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Benzel added 22 points, including six three pointers. The Cajuns were led by 21 points from Greene. Three other Cajuns hit double figures, including 15 from Brian Hamilton – his 13th consecutive game scoring in double digits.
In a similar fashion to the first half, the Cajuns started the second half slowly.
Already leading by five, DU scored the first five points of the second half to build a 10-point advantage.
From there, Louisiana turned up the intensity on the defensive end, allowing only three baskets over the next 5:33.
Cajuns defense led to offense, as UL used an 18-7 surge to take a 53-52 lead with 13:07 remaining. Several Cajuns contributed, led by seven points from Tiras Wade and six points from Dwayne Mitchell.
Benzel stopped the Cajuns run and ignited the Pioneers offense. Benzel's three pointer gave DU the lead back, 55-53. Then his steal led to an alley-oop basket from Rodney Billups to Nicholson. Benzel then tossed his own alley-oop pass to Nicholson to cap a 9-2 run, giving Denver a 61-55 lead at 10:54.
Wade and Greene led the Cajuns charge back, a 12-6 spurt that tied the game at 67-67.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (13-8, 7-2 SBC)
Greene, Orien 8-12 0-1 21; Wade, Tiras 6-16 4-4 17;
Hamilton, Brian 6-11 3-7 15; Mitchell, Dwayne 4-5 2-2 10;
Cameron, Chris 3-11 0-0 9; Gray, Derek 0-0 0-0 0; Mouton,
Ross 0-1 0-0 0; Ford, Spencer 0-6 0-0 0; Fobbs, Cletis 0-1
0-0 0. Totals 27-63 9-14 72.
DENVER (13-7, 8-1 SBC) Nicholson, Yemi 10-12 8-10 28;
Benzel, Erik 7-12 2-3 22; Billups, Rodney 3-7 6-7 12; Porch,
Antonio 4-9 2-2 11; Carpenter, Andrew 1-6 2-2 4; Kummer,
David 1-2 0-0 2; Seger, Brett 0-1 0-0 0; Gordon, Terrence
0-0 0-0 0; Wetrich, Steve 0 0 0-0 0. Totals 26-49 20-24
79.
Halftime Score: DU 39, UL 35. 3-point goals - UL 9-23 (Greene 5-8; Cameron 3-8; Wade 1-5; Mouton 0-1; Ford 0-1), DU 7-17 (Benzel 6-11; Porch 1-2; Carpenter 0-2; Seger 0-1; Billups 0-1). Fouled out – UL-Hamilton, DU-None. Rebounds - UL 38 (Hamilton 8), DU 26 (Nicholson 11). Assists - UL 11 (Mitchell 5), DU 19 (Billups 15). Total fouls - UL 20, DU 13. A - 1,852.
Coaches vs. the Opposition...
Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Robert Lee meets South Alabama for the second time as the Ragin' Cajuns head coach and 22nd time overall in his coaching career. While an assistant under former head coaches Jessie Evans and Marty Fletcher (1996-2004), the Cajuns went 11-9 vs. the Jaguars. As a head coach, Lee is 1-0 against the Jaguars.
South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey, in his third season at USA, is meeting Louisiana-Lafayette for the seventh (7th) time in his career and is 2-4 vs. the Cajuns.
Last Time vs. USA...Jan. 13, 2005 in Mobile, Ala.
MOBILE, Ala. (Jan. 13, 2005) – 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 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 and capped off a stretch where Wade outscored South Alabama 12-3.
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.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (7-7, 1-1 SBC) Wade,
Tiras 9-19 3-4 28; Hamilton, Brian 4-9 2-3 10; Mitchell,
Dwayne 2-4 0-0 5; Rhodman, Anthony 1-3 1-2 4; Cameron, Chris
2-6 0-0 4; Mouton, Ross 1-1 0-0 3; Ford, Spencer 1-3 0-2 3;
Greene, Orien 1-6 0-1 2; James, Adam 0-0 0-0 0; Gray, Derek
0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 6-12 59.
SOUTH ALABAMA (3-11, 0-3 SBC) Law, Richard 4-8 4-4 13;
Jointer, Mario 4-10 3-6 13; Smith, Carlos 3-8 3-3 10;
Gordon, Brandon 3-4 1-9 8; Collins, Jeffrey 2-5 0-0 6;
Northern, Daniel 2-5 0-0 4; Pate, Jacque 1-1 0-0 2; Cowherd,
Stephen 0-1 0-0 0; Spencer, Shane 0-0 0-0 0.
Halftime Score: USA 29, UL 26. 3-point goals – UL 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), USA 7-21 (Collins 2-4; Jointer 2-6; Law 1-4; Gordon 1-1; Smith 1-5; Cowherd 0-1). Fouled out -UL-Mitchell, USA-Jointer. Rebounds - UL 34 (Hamilton 13), USA 32 (Gordon 11). Assists - UL 15 (Mitchell 5), USA 8 (Cowherd 2; Law 2). Total fouls - UL 20, USA 14. A - 2,712.
Last time in the 'Dome...USA Won 76-73 on Jan. 15, 2004
LAFAYETE (Jan. 15, 2004) – Louisiana-Lafayette committed a season-high 20 turnovers in the game, none more costly than an errant pass by Laurie Bridges with nine seconds remaining with the Ragin' Cajuns trailing by one point, as South Alabama escaped with a 76-73 victory.
Malerick Bedden scored a game-high 18 points for the Jaguars (7-7, 2-1 Sun Belt) including the game-winning basket with 19 seconds left to play. Bedden put back a missed layup by Shane Spencer to give USA a 74-73 lead – its first lead since the 17-minute mark of the second half.
Louisiana-Lafayette led by one point, 73-72, and had possession of the ball with 30 seconds remaining. Antoine Landry was dribbling near midcourt when Spencer stole the ball and raced down the court. Spencer would miss the layup, but Bedden was trailing the play and grabbed the loose ball and converted the layup for the game-winner.
The Cajuns (6-5, 1-1 Sun Belt) had a chance to setup an attempt for the winning basket. Head coach Jessie Evans called a timeout with 13 seconds left to draw up a play. After the inbounds pass following the timeout, Bridges was penetrating inside the wing when he decided to dish the ball back out on the perimeter. The only problem was no one from UL Lafayette was on the receiving end of the pass and it landed out-of-bounds turning the ball back over to the Jaguars.
Richard Law was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass by USA and was sent to the charity stripe with seven seconds on the clock. Law made both freebies to extend the USA lead to 76-73.
On Louisiana-Lafayette's return possession, Dwayne Mitchell opted for the quick layup for two points, but his attempt rolled off the rim and the clock expired on the Cajuns. The loss was the first at home for Louisiana-Lafayette during the 2003-04 season.
The Jaguars outscored the Cajuns 16-3 in the final 5:38 of the contest after UL Lafayette had taken a 70-60 lead. The Cajuns were held to just one field goal in the decisive stretch.
UL Lafayette opened the second half with a 15-3 run to take a 50-41 lead with 13:33 left to play.
USA would then use a 13-6 run to cut the Cajuns lead to 56-54 with 10:13 remaining in the game.
SOUTH ALABAMA (7-7, 2-1 SBC) Bedden,
Malerick 7-13 2-2 18; Law, Richard 6-13 2-2 17; Phillips,
Michael 5-11 3-4 14; Miller, Seth 4-5 0-0 10; Young, Chris
2-5 2-2 7; Williams, Henry 2-4 1-2 5; Spencer, Shane 1-3 2-2
4; Ba, Tamsir 0-0 1-2 1; White, Justin 0-0 0-0 0; Smith,
Carlos 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-56 13-16 76.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE (6-5, 1-1 SBC) Landry, Antoine
5-10 3-4 16; Hamilton, Brian 5-6 6-8 16; Bridges, Laurie 5-9
2-2 14; Boyd, Brad 4-14 0-0 11; Cameron, Chris 3-5 0-0 6;
Williams, Cedric 2-3 2-3 6; Mitchell, Dwayne 1-3 2-4 4.
Halftime Score: USA 38, UL 35. 3-point goals - USA 9-17 (Law 3-6; Miller 2-2; Bedden 2-3; Young 1-4; Phillips 1-2), UL 8-23 (Boyd 3-12; Landry 3-7; Bridges 2-4). Fouled out - USA-None, UL-None. Rebounds - USA 26 (Law 6), UL 31 (Bridges 7; Hamilton 7). Assists - USA 10 (Young 4), UL 16 (Bridges 4; Landry 4). Total fouls – USA 17, UL 15. A - 4,756.
Holding the Lead...
Of the 320 minutes of basketball played this season at the Cajundome, Louisiana-Lafayette has either led or been tied for 272:05 – 85 percent of the minutes rolled off the scoreboard. The Cajuns have trailed at the 'Dome for only 47:55 through eight games combined this season.
The Cajuns trailed for 2:10 against Rice, never trailed St. Mary's (Texas), trailed for 7:17 against Georgia State, trailed Southern Illinois for 6:50, trailed Denver for a season-high 29:30, never trailed against FIU and trailed for just 2:08 against Western Kentucky.
Lead changes in the second half have been as rare. The only game which saw a second-half lead change was the Denver game. In fact, DU was the only team to hold a lead at halftime this season in the 'Dome.
During the last homestand (Jan. 22-29 against FIU, WKU and MT) the Cajuns led from wire-to-wire against FIU and Middle Tennessee. Counting the miniscule 2:08 trailed against WKU and the Cajuns held the lead for 57:52 out of a possible 60 minutes.
A Cajuns Win Would...
Avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in Sun Belt play and third time this season…Be the fourth win over USA, tying the school record for the longest win streak in the series, and increase the Cajuns lead to 21-16 (10-7 in Lafayette)…Make the Cajuns winners for the 26th time in the squad's last 29 Sun Belt home games and improve the team to 5-1 this season at the CAJUNDOME in Sun Belt action…Get the Cajuns off to a 8-1 start through nine Sun Belt games for the third straight season…Make Robert Lee the fastest to 14 wins in a debut season, tying Bobby Paschal (1978-79) and Beryl Shipley (1957-58) who had identical 14-8 records in their debut seasons…Improve the Cajuns to 29-8 against the SBC West Division since the 2001-02 season…Be the squad's 11th win in the last 14 games.
A Cajuns Loss Would...
Mark back-to-back losses for the third time overall and first time in Sun Belt play this season…Snap the Cajuns four-game home winning streak and mark the first time the program has lost two games in the CAJUNDOME in a single season since the 2000-01 season…Snap a three-game win streak over South Alabama…Continue the trend of the road team winning the regular season meetings in the series with USA – the fourth straight occurrence and the second straight season (Cajuns won 79-73 in Mobile and USA won 76-73 in Lafayette during the '03-04 season).
Next on the Schedule...
Louisiana-Lafayette continues its current four-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 12 as the Ragin' Cajuns host their only Sun Belt Conference in-state rival (at least until 2006-07 when ULM joins the league) New Orleans in a 7:05 p.m. contest that will be aired live on ESPN+ and shown locally on Cox Cable Channel 27 in the Lafayette viewing area.
This renewal of the rivalry should be an exciting one. It not only feature two of the candidates for Sun Belt Player of the Year – Tiras Wade and Bo McCalebb – but it also gives the Cajuns a chance to even the all-time series at 30-30. UL has won 14 of the last 18 meetings since the 1997-98 season helping to close the gap on a series that UNO once led 26-15.
-Ragin' Cajuns-
