University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Denver
Most Recent Recap...Ragin' Cajuns at Denver...Feb. 17, 2007
2/17/2007 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Denver - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns survived a flurry in the final eight minutes to defeat the Denver Pioneers by a final score of 67-65.
Louisiana (9-18, 7-9) led for the first 37:07 only to see Denver (4-23, 3-14) take the lead three times in the final three minutes.
Joseph Jackson scored 13 points in the final 8:08 to help the Pioneers overcome an 11-point deficit with 9:24 remaining.
DU fought back, enjoying a 15-3 run to take their first lead. The Cajuns made only one field goal in a seven-minute span that allowed the hosts to get the lead.
Elijah Millsap's offensive rebound and lay-in gave the Cajuns back the lead 23 seconds later.
Jackson put the Pioneers back in front, but David Dees answered for the Cajuns.
Jackson again put the Pioneers ahead, but Ross Mouton hit a triple to give the Cajuns a two-point cushion with 36.1 seconds remaining.
Jackson's running jumper with 21.3 seconds left in the game tied the contest at 65-65.
Dees won the game with a long jumper with just 0.7 seconds remaining.
Tyler Bullock had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but he missed a 15-footer jumper on the wing.
Millsap led the Cajuns with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Mouton added 15 and Dees finished with 13 points, seven assists and three steals.
The Cajuns would extend their four-point halftime lead to seven points, only to see it cut to one point, 45-44, with 13:36 remaining.
From there, the Cajuns would use a 10-0 run to boost their edge back to double figures.
Two baskets by Valentino Hart and jumpers from Derek Gray, Mouton and Millsap gave the Cajuns a 55-44 lead with 9:24 on the clock.
Four Pioneers finished in double figures, with Jackson, Adam Tanner and Nate Rohnert each contributing 13 points.
A three pointer by Mouton and Dees and three lay-ups by Millsap gave the Cajuns an early 10-0 lead.
A triple by Tanner was answered by Mouton's second triple of the game and a three-point basket by Adam James. For James, it was his first career three-point attempt on 112 career shots.
Rhett Hebert connected on a triple from the top of the arc to give UL a 21-7 lead at the 11:57 mark. The Cajuns were 5-for-5 from long range and shooting 62 percent from the floor at this point. UL benefited from four Pioneers turnovers, scoring 10 points off the miscues.
DU didn't commit a turnover in the next six minutes and cut their deficit under double figures.
Courtney Wallace hit a long jumper to push the Cajuns lead to 16 points, 23-7, but the Pioneers responded with an 11-4 run to trim the Cajuns advantage to nine points at the 6:35 mark.
Hebert snapped the DU spurt with a long jumper followed by a three pointer to give the Cajuns a 14-point edge. Unfortunately, the Cajuns shooting would cool significantly, as UL made only one more field goal the rest of the half.
DU continued to protect the basketball and started to out rebound the Cajuns. The Pioneers ended the final five minutes of the first half with a 14-4 jaunt to cut the UL lead to 36-32 at the break.
Next up for the Cajuns is a trip to Miami to face Florida International on Thursday.
