University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
North Texas
Ragin' Cajuns at North Texas
1/11/2007 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, TEXAS - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns went from heartache to jubilation to dismay in a matter of seconds, falling 73-72 in overtime at North Texas.
Kendrick Davis' three-point play with two seconds remaining in overtime looked to be the difference in a heartbreaking defeat for the Cajuns, but David Dees drilled a half-court jumper at the buzzer to cap an amazing finish.
Or did he?
Referee Brad Ferrie at first called the basket good, but then spent several minutes reviewing Dees's shot via a monitor replay of The Super Pit's in-house video board.
After a lengthy debate, Ferrie ruled “no basket” to the home crowd's delight.
In overtime, Dees helped the Cajuns to a three-point lead on two different occasions, but UL saw themselves up by just one point with 24.4 seconds remaining. Following a Mean Green timeout, the Cajuns beat the press and Ross Mouton was fouled going to the rim.
The Cajuns senior made just one of two from the stripe with 14.4 seconds showing before Davis's play put NT in front.
The loss was the first for Louisiana (4-13, 2-5) in the New Year. North Texas improves to 12-5, 3-3.
The Cajuns opened the second half with a 9-0 surge to take a 42-34 lead at the 17:02 mark. Two quick baskets from Dees helped UL take back the lead, and a jumper and then a three-pointer by Mouton gave the Cajuns an eight-point edge.
NT came back with a 10-1 run to take the lead back, 44-43, at 12:04.
UL used an 8-1 run to re-claim the lead. A jumper by Elijah Millsap and triples by Dees and Mouton boosted Louisiana to a 53-47 lead with 8:21 to play.
Four straight free throws after a Mean Green basket pushed the Cajuns edge to 57-49 at 6:07.
NT used a 7-2 run to knock the Cajuns lead down to three points, 61-58 with only 2:11 remaining.
Davis converted a three-point play with 50.4 seconds left to tie the game at 64-64.
The Cajuns used their final timeout with the ball and 18.1 seconds remaining, but Millsap's shot from the baseline was offline.
Dees led all players with 23 points. Millsap notched his second career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 12 boards. Mouton, who was in foul trouble early and scored only two points in four-first half minutes, scored 13 points.
Tied at 9-9 to open the contest, the Cajuns momentarily took their first lead, 13-12, on a three-pointer by Rhett Hebert.
Two from the stripe by Dees gave the Cajuns a 16-15 lead, but the Mean Green countered with a 9-0 run to build a 24-16 edge midway through the half.
UL came back with 12 straight points to grab their biggest lead of the half, 28-24, with 5:33 left. Millsap started things with a basket and had seven points during the burst. Tyren Johnson added a three-pointer and Adam James contributed a lay-up en route to the lead.
A basket by Valentino Hart put the Cajuns in front 33-30 with 2:38 remaining in the first half, but the Cajuns would not score again in the half.
The hosts scored the final four points of the opening 20 minutes to take a 34-33 lead at the break.
