University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Cal State Fullerton
Cajuns Clipped by Cal State Fullerton in Overtime
11/24/2006 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAFAYETTE - David Dees and Ross Mouton combined for 64 points, but Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team was clipped by Cal State Fullerton 91-89 in overtime here Friday evening at the Cajundome.
Dees scored a career-high and season-high 37 points on 12-of-24 shooting while Mouton added 27 points and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line.
It was Dees who hit a jumper with nine seconds left in overtime that pulled the Cajuns into an 89-89 tie. However, Bobby Brown led the charge for CSF and hit a running layup in traffic with four seconds remaining to give the Titans the winning basket.
After the final horn sounded the Ragin' Cajuns (1-3) were left wondering what might have been had the squad not missed four consecutive free throws over a four-second span in the overtime session.
CSF reclaimed the lead 88-86 when Justin Burns hit two free throws. On the ensuing possession, Rhett Hebert was bumped by Ray Reed as he was shooting a three-point attempt. Hebert would make the first three, but missed the final two with 33 seconds remaining.
The Cajuns grabbed the loose ball on the second missed free throw and Valentino Hart was fouled on an offensive rebound attempt following a missed three-pointer by Hebert. Hart couldn't connect on his free throw tries and the Cajuns remained down by one point with 29 seconds left.
The loss was the third straight overall for the Ragin' Cajuns who had their 17-game, non-conference winning streak at the Cajundome halted. UL lost a non-conference game in the ?Dome for the first time since Nov. 24, 2001, when Mississippi State won 79-71.
The game was the beginning of a four-game homestand which runs through Saturday, Dec. 2. The Cajuns continue the homestand on Monday, Nov. 27 hosting Tennessee at 7:05 p.m.
The Titans outrebounded the Ragin' Cajuns 54-38 and held a 27-14 advantage in offensive rebounds. CSF held a 25-9 edge in second-chance points and scored 48 points in the paint.
Scott Cutley paced the Titans attack with 31 points.
It was through the efforts of Mouton and Dees that the Cajuns were able to complete their rally from an 18-point first half deficit and send the game into overtime.
CSF broke away from a 56-all tie with a 10-4 run that opened a 66-60 lead with 8:44 remaining in regulation.
Dees began an 8-3 run that gave UL the lead with six minutes remaining. He scored inside at 7:37 to trim the deficit to 68-64. Alphonso Williams stepped in front of a Brown pass and stole the ball racing in for a layup that cut the CSF lead to two points.
An offensive foul by Reed turned the ball back over to the Cajuns and Mouton buried a jumper that evened the score at 68-68 with 7:02 left.
Justin Burns broke the tie with a free throw at 6:25, but the Cajuns jumped back out in front when Dees followed his own miss for a basket that gave the home team a 70-69 lead.
Mouton scored UL's next two baskets upping the lead to 74-72 at the four-minute mark. The Titans answered with four straight points going ahead on a Burns basket on a give-and-go with Frank Robinson and CSF led 76-74 at 2:49.
The combination of Mouton and Dees scored the Cajuns' final four points. It was a Dees running hook shot with 47 seconds left that put the Cajuns up 78-76. Before Dees' basket, Cutley was whistled for an offensive charge affording UL the shot for the basket which scored the points necessary for overtime.
Cutley redeemed himself 17 seconds after Dees' make when he scored inside to even the game at 78-78. UL had the last shot by a jumper by Dees was off the mark sending the game into overtime.
The crowd was treated to a fast-paced game in the beginning minutes. CSF shot 7-of-9 (78 percent) to open a 17-9 lead five minutes into the contest.
The Cajuns trailed 5-4 at the 18:01 mark. The Titans responded with baskets on three straight possessions to create early breathing room.
Reed connected on a three-pointer and on the ensuing possession it was Brown with a fadeaway jumper that upped the CSF lead to 10-4.
Reed would pick up a steal on the Cajuns trip down the floor and race in for an uncontested layup that finished off a 7-0 run and gave the visitors a 12-4 lead with 16:44 left in the first half.
The Ragin' Cajuns closed the deficit to 18-11 at 14:28 when Dees hit a bucket. The Titans would respond with an 11-0 run that sent their lead back into double digits.
At the end of the visitors run UL found itself down 29-11 at the 10:41 mark.
The Cajuns defense began to turn up the pressure and settle in after the CSF run. The Titans were shooting 9-of-13 (69 percent) at the 11-minute media timeout. The UL defense held CSF to 8-of-25 shooting (32 percent) the remainder of the half allowing the home team to creep back within single digits at the break.
UL outscored CSF 29-14 to end the half and held the Titans to only two points from the 10:41 mark until the 5:02 mark.
Free throws by Dees and Mouton scored the Ragin' Cajuns' next four points and worked the deficit down to 14 points. After a defensive stop following Mouton's freebies, Dees would knock down a three-pointer at 8:51 making it 29-18.
The Cajuns defense made another stop after Dees' triple and Courtney Wallace was found wide open in the paint for a reverse layup that got the deficit back into single digits at 29-20 just before the eight-minute mark.
On the return trip Cutley found Andrew Green for a jumper that increased the Titans' advantage to 31-20. The Ragin' Cajuns started a 9-0 run that put the hosts back into the game.
At 7:34 Mouton sank two free throws to trim the deficit to 31-22. Green turned the ball over for the Titans and it was Dees scoring again for the Cajuns this time hitting a leaning jumper at 6:59 that made it 31-24.
Wallace stole the ball from Green on the other end ? CSF's second straight turnover ? and Dees was good on a free throw at 6:42 cutting the CSF lead to 31-25.
The Cajuns defense forced the Titans to miss two shots on the ensuing possession and eventually stole the ball creating another CSF turnover. The outlet pass was sent Mouton's way and he raced in for a field goal which he made as he was fouled by Robison. Mouton's freebie was good and all of a sudden the Cajuns were within three points at 31-28 with 5:41 left in the half.
The lead was back at seven points, 43-36, before the Cajuns scored four unanswered points to close the deficit back to three points. It started with an inside basket from Hart at 1:09.
The Cajuns defense would pressure the Titans into missing four straight shots and free throws from Dees and Hart made it 43-40 with 37 seconds showing on the clock.
Cutley broke free for his 18th and 19th points of the opening stanza for CSF hitting a jumper with 15 seconds left and the Titans went into the locker room with a 45-40 lead.
