University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Stephen F. Austin
Cajuns Start Slow and Never Catch Up at SFA
12/9/2006 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas- Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team's attempt at making it two straight wins heading into Sun Belt Conference play was spoiled after Stephen F. Austin led from start to finish in an 80-42 victory here Saturday evening at William R. Johnson Coliseum.
The Ragin' Cajuns (2-6) who returned to action for the first time since last Saturday's win over Louisiana Tech looked like a team which lost all of its momentum from the layoff in suffering its largest defeat of the 2006-07 season.
Louisiana-Lafayette fell behind 11-0 to start the game and didn't hit double digits until 3:09 remained in the first half.
The Cajuns shot a season-low 31.9 percent from the field hitting only 15-of-47 shots. UL was held to single digit field goal makes in both halves.
Ross Mouton led UL with 15 points while David Dees backed him up with 14 points. The two combined to score 29 of the Cajuns' 42 points and made 10 of the team's 15 field goals.
The Lumberjacks (5-4) couldn't seem to miss a basket. SFA shot 65.2 percent for the contest making 30-of-46 shot attempts. SFA connected on 18-of-24 shots in the second stanza (75 percent).
The Jacks were led by the inside tandem of Matt Kingsley and Antuane Miller. Kingsley contributed a team-high 16 points and Miller had 13 points. Josh Alexander joined them in double figures scoring 10 points.
Saturday's victory allowed SFA to avenge last season's 66-63 loss at the Cajundome in the BracketBuster matchup which led to this season's meeting in Nacogdoches.
The 42 points scored by UL were the fewest under head coach Robert Lee and the fewest since the 2001-02 team scored only 41 at Bradley on Nov. 19, 2001.
SFA scored on its first three touches and had a 7-0 lead only 1:38 into the contest.
The Jacks controlled the opening tip and Alexander hit a three-pointer in the right corner at 19:33 for a 3-0 lead. Rhett Hebert missed a three-pointer on the other end and Adam James had his putback attempt partially blocked.
SFA worked the ball inside to Kingsley who posted up against James and peeled around him on the right side for a shot off glass making it 5-0 at 18:49. On the ensuing possession Alexander reached around and stole the ball from Mouton on the right wing and raced down the sideline for a driving layup at 18:22 pushing the lead to 7-0.
The Cajuns turned the ball over after a timeout and Scott Weaver scored inside at 17:55 upping the Lumberjacks lead to 9-0.
UL made wholesale lineup changes during the 16-minute mark, but the scoreless drought extended beyond the first media timeout.
Courtney Wallace hit the Cajuns first basket when he scored inside at 14:35. Wallace's basket ended an 11-0 SFA run.
The Cajuns got a five-point spurt inside the 14-minute mark to cut the SFA lead down to five points. Dees hit his first basket of the game when he converted a leaner in the paint at 13:27 cutting the deficit to 12-4.
Dees contributed on the defensive end on the next possession when he blocked a shot attempt by Lewis and a few seconds later Mouton was found open for a three-pointer at the 12:45 mark which made it 12-7.
SFA responded with four straight points capped off by a triple from Gerald Fonzie at 11:36 that increased the lead to 16-7. When Miller hit the second fee throw of a two-shot foul at 9:26 the Lumberjacks had returned the lead to double digits.
The Jacks run extended eight more points as the Ragin' Cajuns continued to miss shots. When Fonzie banked in a shot off glass with 5:55 remaining in the first half the SFA advantage stood at 25-7.
Defense spurned a fastbreak opportunity for UL after Dees missed a shot at 5:21. James blocked at shot attempted by Miller and the loose ball was quickly fed to Dees who raced down the floor for a scoop reverse layup at the 5:01 mark ending the Cajuns scoreless drought at 7:44. It was the Cajuns first points since Mouton's triple at 12:45.
Dees missed two field goal attempts before James came up with the offensive rebound on the second miss and went back up for a layup that put the Cajuns into double figures at 3:09.
After Keith Hardaway misfired on a three-pointer on SFA's return possession the Cajuns went on a fastbreak set that found Mouton out on the left wing for a trip down the baseline in for a quick layup at 2:24 that pulled the Cajuns within 15 points at 28-13.
The Cajuns defense forced another stop and had a chance to slice the lead to 11 points just under two minutes in the opening stanza. Mouton couldn't handle a pass from Valentino Hart and UL turned the ball back over to SFA.
The two teams traded baskets to keep the margin at 15 points before Miller sank two free throws with 31 seconds left to give the hosts a 32-15 lead they would take into the locker room.
The Cajuns cracked the scoreboard first to start the second half when Dees followed his shot after it was blocked and went up quickly for a layup at 19:46.
SFA hit two baskets by the 18:11 mark and returned the lead to its largest point at 19 points when an Alexander jumper made it 36-17.
Mouton was fouled by Alexander on a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession and hit two-of-three free throw tries with 17:33 left to make it 36-19. SFA pushed the lead into 20 points for the first time in the game when Weaver drained a triple in the right corner only 20 seconds later upping the lead to 39-19.
UL worked the lead back under 20 when Mouton knocked down a basket at 16:57. SFA went inside to Kingsley for two baskets on its next two possessions and took a 43-21 lead just inside 16 minutes left in the contest.
Dees was responsible for four points in the 13-minute mark which helped the Cajuns get the lead back to 20 points after the Lumberjacks had taken a 46-22 lead.
Dees hit a pair of free throws at 13:53. UL applied full court pressure and trapped the Jacks in the backcourt forcing a turnover deep on the Cajuns end of the court. Dees worked inside and followed his own miss for a putback basket at 13:24 that cut the SFA lead to 46-26.
The Cajuns defense forced another SFA turnover when a pass went out-of-bounds near midcourt. UL had a chance to work the deficit back under 20 points, but Derek Gray's three-point attempt was off the mark and the Lumberjacks were back down the floor where Will Johnson caught a pass in the right wing and drove baseline for a layup while being fouled.
Johnson's basket increased the lead to 48-26 and jumpstarted a 6-0 SFA run which pushed the lead to 52-26 at the 11:52 mark.
A 9-2 run by the Cajuns capped off by a Mouton three-pointer at 8:04 sliced the deficit to 54-35. The lead returned to 20 points nine seconds later when Fonzie hit a free throw to make it 55-35.
The Ragin' Cajuns missed three straight tries from three-point land and had a turnover and were never able to get closer than the 19 points the rest of the way.
The Lumberjacks run continued as they rolled off 14 more unanswered points to send the lead into 30 points where it remained the rest of the game.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 13 in New Orleans for the 2006-07 Sun Belt Conference opener against UNO. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m., at the Human Performance Center on the UNO campus.
The game with the Privateers marks the beginning of the Ragin' Cajuns' 16th season in the Sun Belt Conference and the 63rd meeting all-time with the Privateers. Cox Sports Television (cable 37 in Lafayette) will broadcast the game.
