Louisiana-Utah Valley Game Photo Galley
LAFAYETTE ? For just the second time this season, senior guard David Dees (Dayton, Ohio) posted a 20-point effort, as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns snapped a two-losing streak with a 67-59 win over Utah Valley Tuesday at the CAJUNDOME.
Louisiana (8-9) extended its home court winning streak to four games, while Utah Valley (6-13) lost for fourth straight time.
Senior David Dees (Dayton, Ohio) led all scorers with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes. Dees' 20 points are the second-highest by the senior this season. Sophomore guard Elijah Millsap (Grambling, La.) chipped in 16 points, while Courtney Wallace (New Orleans, La.) added a career-high 14.
Freshman forward Travis Bureau (Gonzales, La.) made his first career start for the Cajuns, but only tallied three points and two rebounds in 19 minutes.
Josh Olsen paced the Wolverines with 13 points, while Brett Ravenberg and Jordan Brady each added 10. Louisiana held Ryan Toolson to just nine points on 1-of-12 shooting in 38 minutes.
Louisiana's first-half nine-point lead quickly dissipated as the Wolverines pulled to within three, 33-30, before La'Ryan Gary (Lafayette, La.) converted a three-point play, bringing the Cajuns' lead back to six, 36-30. The Cajuns' lead grew to as many as eight, 40-32.
However, a 13-2 run by Utah Valley gave the Wolverines a 45-42 advantage with 10:15 remaining in the second half. Wallace provided the equalizer at 47 with 7:18 on the clock.
Two possessions later, the Wolverines extended their lead to four, 53-49, on a Richard Troyer three-point in the corner. The Cajuns answered with a wide-open triple from Dees, cutting the deficit to one, 53-52.
Then, Millsap buried a three-pointer at the 4:59 mark to give the Cajuns their first lead in more than seven minutes as Louisiana took a 55-53 lead. Millsap followed with a tip-in on a Dees miss to put the Cajuns up four, 57-53.
Two Wallace free throws extended the Cajuns' lead to six, 61-55. Dees then sealed the victory with a 22-footer for a 65-57 Cajuns lead with 40 seconds remaining the game.
After two early Louisiana turnovers, Bureau drilled a three from the top of key, giving the Cajuns an early 3-2 lead. However, Utah Valley would rebound to take a 9-7 edge on a Toolson trey. On the ensuing Louisiana possession, Randell Daigle (Lafayette, La.) drained his first triple of the night to extend his streak to 15 consecutive games with a three-point basket.
Utah Valley continued to have an answer for each Louisiana bucket. The Wolverines again relied on Toolson, who calmly converted two free throws for an 11-10 lead. Trailing by one, 13-12, Louisiana went on an 8-1 run to take a 20-14 lead with 9:47 left in the first half.
The Cajuns eventually extended their lead to seven, 23-16, on a Dees triple from the left wing. A second Dees triple provided Louisiana with a commanding 10-point edge, 26-16, at the 5:07 mark.
Louisiana took its largest lead of the first half, 31-19, with just under three minutes remaining until halftime. But, Jabir Jinna's triple from the right side to cut lead to single digits, 31-22. The Cajuns had an opportunity to post a double-digit lead heading into the locker room, but Daigle's triple try at the buzzer hit the back of the iron. However, the Cajuns held a 33-24 edge at the break.
Dees led all scorers at the half with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor, while Millsap chipped in seven. Toolson and Matt Komenda paced Utah Valley with five points each as the Cajuns held Toolson to just 1-of-6 from the floor.
Louisiana shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the field in the first half, while holding the Wolverines to just 35 percent (7-of-20).
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns continue their brief homestand Saturday when they welcome Sun Belt Conference East Division rival Western Kentucky at the CAJUNDOME. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
UTAH VALLEY 59
Olsen, Josh 5-7 2-2 13; Brady, Jordan 4-11 2-2 10; Ravenberg, Brett 5-5 0-0
10; Toolson, Ryan 1-12 6-7 9; Komenda, Matt 1-2 5-6 7; Troyer, Richard 2-8
0-0 6; Jinna, Jabir 1-2 0-0 3; Woods, Kevin 0-1 1-2 1; Anderson, Brian 0-0
0-0 0; Swarbrick, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 16-19 59.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 67
Dees, David 6-11 3-8 20; Millsap, Elijah 5-11 4-5 16; Wallace, Courtney 5-6
4-7 14; Gary, La'Ryan 3-3 3-4 9; Daigle, Randell 1-4 0-0 3; Bureau, Travis
1-4 0-0 3; Milson, Abray 1-1 0-0 2; Dees, Stephen 0-0 0-0 0; Gradnigo, Chris
0-2 0-0 0; Lago, Willie 0-1 0-0 0; Bloom, Corey 0-1 0-0 0; Johnson, Tyren
0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 14-24 67.
Halftime: UL 33, UV 24. 3-point goals--Utah Valley 5-17 (Troyer, Richard 2-5; Jinna, Jabir 1-1; Olsen, Josh 1-2; Toolson, Ryan 1-6; Swarbrick, Jordan 0-1; Brady, Jordan 0-2), Louisiana-Lafayette 9-18 (Dees, David 5-6; Millsap, Elijah 2-3; Bureau, Travis 1-3; Daigle, Randell 1-4; Bloom, Corey 0-1; Johnson, Tyren
0-1). A-3523
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