University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Little Rock
UALR Rallies Past Cajuns in Second Half
12/28/2006 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAFAYETTE - UALR shot 50 percent in the second half to rally from a halftime deficit and hand Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team a 59-55 loss here Thursday evening in the Cajundome.
The Ragin' Cajuns (2-11, 0-3 Sun Belt) held the Trojans to 28.6 percent (8-of-28) in the first half and opened a 24-22 lead at the half. UALR hit made 8-of-14 shots (57 percent) to start the second half and regain the lead for good 46-42 with six minutes remaining.
The Cajuns would go scoreless until the 3:34 mark and during that time UALR (7-7, 2-1 Sun Belt) stretched its lead to 51-42.
The loss was the sixth straight overall for Louisiana-Lafayette and dropped the Cajuns to 2-5 in the Cajundome this season.
UALR won for only the second time in its 11th appearance in the Cajundome. It was the first Trojans victory in the ?Dome since Feb. 2, 1995 (won 62-56).
David Dees paced the UL efforts with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Elijah Millsap scored 12 points and Rhett Hebert added 11 to join Dees in double figures.
The Trojans were paced by a game-high 21 points from Terrance Akins. Akins was the main catalyst in the UALR rally as he hit four triples in the second half and ended the game 6-of-9 from three-point land.
Rashad Jones-Jennings grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds for the Trojans.
After over two minute of scoreless possessions between both teams Millsap scored the game's first points at 17:28 when he knocked down a five-foot jumper on the baseline. UALR drew even on the next possession when Jones-Jennings hit two free throws at 17:04.
UL took the lead back before the 16-minute mark when Millsap fought for a loose ball in the paint after a missed shot and made his second basket of the game putting the Cajuns on top 4-2.
The Trojans claimed their first lead of the evening at 15:42 when Lekheythan Malone hit a three in the left corner with 15:42 remaining in the half to give UALR a 5-4 edge.
The Cajuns got a quick spurt of offense following the first media timeout. Hebert hit a running layup at 13:01 to put the hosts on top 6-5. After a UALR turnover Dees rushed in for a fastbreak dunk that upped the advantage to 8-5 at 12:38.
The Trojans drew even 16 seconds after Dees' dunk when Akins made a triple at to knot the score at 8-all.
The game remained even at the next media timeout as shots were hard to come by for either squad. UALR was shooting 2-of-11 and the Cajuns were 4-of-15 from the floor at the 11:20 mark of the opening stanza.
The Ragin' Cajuns broke the tie when Ross Mouton drove baseline and put up a reverse layup at 11:02. The lead went up to four points at 9:48 when Dees made basket giving the Cajuns a 12-8 lead.
The UL defense held the Trojans to only one made field goal through the seven minute mark and were still leading 12-10.
A Millsap free throw at 7:20 pushed the UL lead to 13-10. UALR's fourth field goal of the half was a three-pointer by Akins with 6:39 left on the clock and the game was evened at 13-all.
A Cajuns turnover led to the Trojans going ahead for the second time on the night. Akins got a steal near the top of the key and returned the basketball down to UALR's end of the floor for a layup at 5:41 that put the visitors in front 15-13.
The teams traded missed three-pointers and Byron Ray missed two free throws at 4:48 that could have allowed UALR to extend its lead to four points.
The Cajuns took advantage of the hot hand of Hebert during the three-minute mark to reclaim the lead and open its halftime advantage. Hebert's first make came at the 3:57 mark and put the Cajuns in front 16-15. UALR committed a foul away from the shot and the Cajuns retained possession. Hebert buried another three-pointer in the left corner and the lead moved to 19-15 with 3:48 left in the half.
The Trojans had a quick answer as Brandon Nichols hit a jumper at the top of the key at 3:26 to trim the lead to 19-17. The Cajuns turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but UALR missed a three-point attempt by Steven Moore.
Hebert made UALR pay for the missed opportunity as his third triple over a span of 1:50 when he hit another one at the 2:09 mark upping the lead to 22-17. Hebert's make was the first of five unanswered for UL which took a 24-17 lead after a basket by Dees at 1:15.
UALR scored the final five points of the half to cut the UL lead to two points at halftime.
The lead marked only the fourth time this season (out of 13 games) that the Ragin' Cajuns brought a halftime lead into the locker room.
The iron was unkind to both teams in the first half. The Cajuns shot only 37 percent (10-of-27) while the Trojans struggled and shot 29 percent (8-of-28). The Trojans were bale to keep pace thanks to a total of four 3-point field goals made ? half of the team's makes in the opening stanza.
UALR went inside and drew shooting fouls in the 18-minute mark of the second half to score the first points of the half. The Trojans got a free throw apiece from Malone and Ray to draw a 24-all tie at 18:10.
On Ray's miss at 18:10 the Trojans controlled the offensive rebound and had two looks at the basket only to come up empty and the Cajuns held onto the tie. The Cajuns had a missed shot on the return possession and after the defensive rebound UALR found Akins open in the left corner for a go-ahead three-pointer at 17:00 to give the visitors a 27-24 edge.
UL missed another shot and the Trojans scampered back down the floor where Malone weaved through traffic for a shot off the glass that upped the UALR lead to 29-24 with 16:11 left in the game.
Malone's basket capped off a 7-0 run to start the half and adding to the final five points of the first half accounted for the Trojans 11th and 12th unanswered points after the Cajuns had gone in front 24-17 at 1:15 of the first half.
After Malone's basket the Cajuns called a timeout. After the timeout, Mouton set up Dees for a mid-range jumper on the right wing that ended the Cajuns scoreless drought at 15:40 and trimmed the Trojans lead to 29-26.
Ray hit two free throws for UALR at 15:11 to return the lead to five points. The Cajuns would then get baskets on their next three possessions and the lead was down to 35-32 at the 13 minute mark.
The score remained the same until Adam James scored inside at 10:57 to cut the deficit to 35-34. The Trojans missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and Dees danced his way into the lane at 10:26 and buried a shot as he was fouled to put the Cajuns in front again. Dees hit the free throw to complete the three-point play and UL had taken a 37-35 lead.
The Cajuns defense forced another UALR miss on the next possession and Dees drew another foul at 9:57. He made one free throw to up the Cajuns lead to 38-35. The lead was short-lived for UL as Akins connected on three-pointers at 9:07 and 8:33 to give UALR a 41-38 advantage.
The Cajuns would hit field goals on their next two possessions getting baskets from Valentino Hart and Dees. Only problem was that UALR had a corresponding basket to help retain its lead. Dees' basket at 6:58 cut the lead to 43-42. On the ensuing possession Akins hit his sixth triple of the game to stretch to Trojans advantage to 46-42 with 6:35 remaining in the game.
UL was guilty of a backcourt violation and UALR regained possession. After the media timeout the Trojans got a second-chance basket from Buddy Harding to increase their lead to 48-42 with 5:51 on the clock.
When Ray scored inside with one second on the shot clock at the 4:14 mark the UALR lead was pushed to 51-42.
The Cajuns crept within five points with 1:03 remaining when Dees was fouled as he made a three-pointer and hit the free throw to complete a four-point play which trimmed the UALR lead to 55-50.
UL would force a turnover from Moore on the inbounds pass and regained possession. Millsap and Milson each missed layups and after Milson's miss he was called for a travel violation on the rebound.
Jones-Jennings hit two free throws with 44 seconds left to up the UALR advantage to 57-50. Dees' three-point attempt on the ensuing possession was off the mark and Jones-Jennings grabbed his 17th and final rebound of the game. He was fouled and hit one of two free throws to increase the Trojans lead to 58-50 with 32 seconds on the scoreboard.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns continue Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 30 as the squad travels to Monroe for a meeting with in-state foe Louisiana-Monroe. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., at ULM's Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
