Cajuns' Valiant Effort Falls Short, 69-66

LAFAYETTE ? Louisiana couldn't contain Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee who scored a game-high 23 points as the Hilltoppers escaped with a 69-66 win over the Ragin' Cajuns Saturday night at the CAJUNDOME.

Saturday's crowd of 6,190 was the largest this season at the CAJUNDOME for Louisiana (8-10, 4-3 Sun Belt) and the largest since Feb. 19, 2005, when 6,954 fans watched UL defeat North Texas 80-67. Western Kentucky (14-5, 6-1 Sun Belt) notched its fourth straight victory with the win.

Senior David Dees (Dayton, Ohio) and freshman Travis Bureau (Gonzales, La.) paced the Cajuns offensively with a team-high 11 points. Courtney Wallace (New Orleans, La.) and Elijah Millsap (Grambling, La.) each added nine. Randell Daigle (Lafayette, La.) was held to just four points on 1-of-6 shooting and failed to make a three-pointer for just the third time this season. It snapped Daigle's streak of 15 straight games with at least one three-pointer.

Lee scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half as the senior went 7-of-17 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free throw line. Steffphon Pettigrew added 14 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes, while Tyrone Brazelton pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and dished out a game-best five assists.

After the Cajuns had led for the most of the first half, Louisiana went ahead of the Toppers only four times in the second half. Leading 37-36 with 15:16 remaining in regulation, Louisiana began to feel the pressure applied by WKU.

Western Kentucky then went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 41-37 edge at the 13:36 mark. The Cajuns later tied the game at 41 all, but the Toppers responded with a torrid run, taking a 57-49 lead with 8:14 left to play. During the run, the closest the Cajuns would get was 48-46 after Bureau converted a huge four-point play with 10:13 on the clock.

The Cajuns, however, eventually would fall behind by as many as 12 points, 64-52, at the 4:32 mark of the second half. WKU would be held without a field goal for the remainder of the game.

But, an 8-1 run by Louisiana cut the deficit to five, 65-60. After a WKU timeout, Tyren Johnson (Edgard, La.) pulled the Cajuns to within two, 65-63, on a triple from the corner in front of the UL bench.

WKU extended its lead back to four points, 67-63, after Lee sank two free throws. That four-point lead quickly diminished to just one, 67-66, on a Bureau trey from the left wing. WKU then went up by three, 69-66, but missed two crucial free throws which allowed Louisiana to hold for the final shot in regulation. But, Daigle's attempt at the buzzer went array as the Toppers went on to win by three.

Louisiana raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the first half and would hold the lead for the majority of the period. After WKU knotted the game at five each, the Cajuns embarked on a 9-3 run to take its largest lead of the game, 14-8, at the 11:46 mark.

WKU would stay within five points during the next eight minutes, eventually cutting the UL lead to 23-22 with 3:18 remaining in the first half. However, after A.J. Slaughter's layup cut the deficit to one, Millsap brought the CAJUNDOME crowd to its feet with an emphatic dunk over Pettigrew.

The Hilltoppers took their first lead of the game, 26-25, after Pettigrew drained two free throws with 1:58 remaining in the first half. On the ensuing Cajuns possession, La'Ryan Gary (Lafayette, La.) gave UL a 27-26 lead on a dunk at the 1:30 mark.

WKU tied the game for the third time on a Pettigrew free throw, 27-27, but the Cajuns were unable to take the lead before the break.

Pettigrew led all scorers with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half, while the Cajuns held Lee to just three points on 1-of-7 shooting in the opening period. Millsap paced UL with seven points, while Dees chipped in six with four boards.

Louisiana shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from the floor in the first half, while Western Kentucky shot just 33.3 percent (10-of-30).

Louisiana returns to action Thursday, Jan. 24 when the Ragin' Cajuns travel to Mobile, Ala., to face the South Alabama Jaguars at the Mitchell Center. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.

WESTERN KENTUCKY 69

Lee, Courtney 7-17 7-9 23; Pettigrew, Steffphon 5-9 3-4 14; Slaughter, A.J.

3-6 2-2 9; Brazelton, Tyrone 4-13 1-5 9; Rogers, Ty 1-5 0-0 3;

Mendez-Valdez, O. 1-3 0-0 3; Walker, Mike 1-1 1-1 3; Siakam, Boris 1-1 1-2

3; Magley, D.J. 1-1 0-0 2; Evans, Jeremy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 15-23 69.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 66

Dees, David 3-8 5-7 11; Bureau, Travis 4-8 1-1 11; Millsap, Elijah 3-6 3-4

9; Wallace, Courtney 4-5 1-1 9; Gary, La'Ryan 3-5 0-0 6; Johnson, Tyren 1-2

2-2 5; Daigle, Randell 1-6 2-2 4; Milson, Abray 1-1 2-2 4; Barksdale,

Maurice 1-1 0-0 3; Gradnigo, Chris 1-3 0-0 2; Lago, Willie 0-2 2-2 2; Dison,

Brandon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 18-21 66.

Halftime: Tied at 27. 3-point goals--Western Kentucky 6-20 (Lee, Courtney 2-6; Mendez-Valdez, O. 1-2; Pettigrew, Steffphon 1-1; Rogers, Ty 1-3; Slaughter, A.J. 1-3; Brazelton, Tyrone 0-5), Louisiana-Lafayette 4-15 (Bureau, Travis 2-4; Barksdale, Maurice 1-1; Johnson, Tyren 1-1; Gary, La'Ryan 0-1; Daigle, Randell 0-4; Millsap, Elijah 0-1; Dees, David 0-3). A-6190

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Cajuns' Valiant Effort Falls Short, 69-66

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Cajuns' Valiant Effort Falls Short, 69-66

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