University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Ole Miss
Cajuns Drop Road Opener at Ole Miss
11/14/2006 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday night at the C.M. “Tad” Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Miss., as they dropped a 69-54 decision to the University of Mississippi.
David Dees recorded his first double-double of the season as he scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.Ross Mouton added 13 points on the night and helped out with eight rebounds of his own.
UL fell behind early, trailing the home team by 12 at halftime. The Cajuns pulled to within six points on a couple of occasions, but were unable to recover and lost by a final score of 69-54.
The Cajuns failed to shoot very well on the night, making just 33-percent of their field goal attempts. Conversely, the Rebels made nearly 50-percent of their baskets from the floors.
Each team had one triple in the first half, but Ole Miss made four from behind the arc in the second half, compared to just a pair by UL. The Ragin' Cajuns finished the night shooting just 13-percent from three-point range, while the Rebels shot 41-percent from behind the arc.
The Cajuns fell behind 5-2 in the first 90-seconds of the game, before going on a 6-0 run to take an 8-5 lead.
Ole Miss responded with a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to lead by nine points and take control of the game.
Rhett Hebert ended the Rebels run as he drained a three from the top of the key, cutting the lead 17-11.
A free throw by Courtney Wallace cut the UM lead to just five points, but a pair of baskets by the Rebels pushed the lead back up to nine points with just under seven minutes remaining in the first half.
A pair of baskets by Willie Lago combined with layups by Mouton and Tryen Johnson cut the Ole Miss lead to just three points at 23-20 with three and a half minutes to play in the first frame.
Trailing 23-20, the Cajuns had a chance to cut the lead to just a pair, but Mouton's free throw attempt was off the mark.
The Rebels used an 11-2 run, including scoring the final nine points of the half, to take a 34-22 lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Cajuns scored the first seven points of the second half to cut the lead to just five points.
Adam James completed a three-point play to cut the lead back to single digits, and David Dees and Wallace both made layups to help the Ragin' Cajuns get back into striking distance.
A three-pointer by Ole Miss pushed the lead back to eight points and a pair of free throws extended the lead back to double digits.
Six straight points by David Dees ? a pair of free throws and a pair of field goals ? saw the Cajuns within six points.
A Rebels' three-pointer pushed the lead back up to nine points, but a triple by Mouton cut the score to 46-40 with just under 12-minutes to play.
After sinking a jumper, the Rebels drained a pair of three's to take their biggest lead of the night, 54-40, with 10-minutes remaining in the game.
Trailing by 13, the Cajuns cut the lead to single digits, as David Dees had a pair of baskets sandwiched around a block on the defensive side to help UL pull within 10.
Down by nine with five minutes to play, Ole Miss' Bam Doyne pushed the lead back to 13 as he made four consecutive free throws over the next minute.
The Ragin' Cajuns and Rebels exchanged baskets over the final four minutes of the game, and UL could get no closer than a 13-point deficit.
The Ragin' Cajuns will continue on the road as they travel to Tulsa, Okla., to take on Oral Roberts on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7:05 p.m.
