LAFAYETTE ? Three players scored in double figures, including a team-high 17 points by David Dees (Dayton, Ohio), as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns improved to 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a very impressive 73-63 win over Arkansas State Thursday night at the CAJUNDOME.
Thursday's victory marked Louisiana's (6-7, 3-0 Sun Belt) first 3-0 start in the Sun Belt since the 1999-2000 season ? the year of Louisiana's last outright conference crown.
Dees went 6-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, while adding four rebounds and four assists. Elijah Millsap (Grambling, La.) chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds. Randell Daigle (Lafayette, La.) added 14 points and five assists.
Adrian Banks led Arkansas State (6-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) with a game-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Ryan Wedel poured in 15 points, while Yima Chia-Kur added 13.
Louisiana took a six-point lead, 40-34, to start the second half before the Indians engineered a 9-0 run, taking a 43-40 edge. But, Travis Bureau (Gonzales, La.) buried a running three-pointer to provide the equalizer at 43 all.
After A-State took a 45-43 lead, Daigle gave the lead back to the Cajuns, 46-45, on a fastbreak three-pointer from the top of the key. Both teams later exchanged buckets until Dees gave Louisiana a three-point lead once again, 51-48.
The Indians responded with a quick 7-0 run to regain the lead, 55-51, with 9:03 remaining in regulation. Dees snapped A-State's spurt with an emphatic dunk to cut the deficit to 55-53.
Banks then extended the ASU lead to four, 59-55. But, the Cajuns slowly chipped away beginning with an Abray Milson (Lafayette, La.) lay-in, followed by a Millsap triple, giving UL a 60-59 lead.
On Arkansas State's ensuing possession, Dees rebounded a Shawn Morgan miss and finished with a three-pointer for a four-point UL lead, 63-59. From there, Louisiana out-scored ASU 10-4 down the stretch for the 10-point victory.
Louisiana opened the first half with a dismal shooting performance, connecting on only one of its first nine shots as the Indians held a 6-4 lead at the 15:42 mark. After the Cajuns tied the game, Arkansas State then posted a 13-2 run, taking a commanding 19-8 lead.
Trailing by double digits, Louisiana snapped Arkansas State's run with a Bureau triple from the corner, cutting the lead to 19-11. However, sloppy play by the Cajuns hindered Louisiana from clawing its way closer to A-State.
The Cajuns later converted a crucial tip-in by La'Ryan Gary (Lafayette, La.) off a Millsap free throw miss. Daigle followed with his first three-pointer of the game, pulling the Cajuns to within one, 24-23. The triple extended Daigle's streak to 11 straight games with at least one three-pointer.
Later in the first, Louisiana took its first lead since the 17:06 mark after Millsap calmly converted two free throws, giving the Cajuns a 25-24 edge. The Cajuns capped their 12-0 run on a Gary tip-in, extending Louisiana's advantage to 27-24.
Clinging to one-point lead, the Cajuns padded their lead thanks to key baskets by Bureau and Daigle as UL took a huge 36-28 edge. However, Arkansas State scored a pair of buckets before the end of regulation to give UL a four-point halftime lead, 36-32.
Arkansas State shot 50 percent from the field in the first half (11-of-22), but was unable to connect on a shot from three-point range (0-of-3). The Indians, however, did go 10-of-12 from the free throw line (83.3 percent).
Louisiana struggled to find a shooting rhythm early in the game, but did manage to hit 42.4 percent (14-of-33) of its shots to end the half. Millsap and Arkansas State's Adrian Banks led all scorers in the first half with nine points apiece, while Daigle chipped in eight.
Millsap, Gary and ASU's Ashton Farmer pulled down four rebounds each.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns will conclude their three-game Sun Belt Conference homestand Saturday when they host in-state rival New Orleans at the CAJUNDOME. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
ARKANSAS STATE 63
Banks, Adrian 7-10 5-8 20; Wedel, Ryan 6-12 2-3 15; Chia-Kur, Yima 5-9 2-2
13; Morgan, Shawn 2-4 1-2 5; Gant, Kewain 2-5 0-0 4; Farmer, Ashton 0-2 2-2
2; Lance, Mike 1-1 0-0 2; Koggu, Ifeayni 1-4 0-0 2; Keaton, P.J. 0-0 0-0 0;
Nutt, Logan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-47 12-17 63.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 73
Dees, David 6-7 2-2 17; Millsap, Elijah 4-11 7-9 16; Daigle, Randell 5-10
1-2 14; Bureau, Travis 3-8 0-0 8; Milson, Abray 3-3 0-0 6; Gary, La'Ryan 3-6
0-2 6; Wallace, Courtney 1-2 0-0 2; Lago, Willie 1-2 0-0 2; Gradnigo, Chris
1-10 0-0 2; Johnson, Tyren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 10-15 73.
Halftime: UL 36, ASU 32. 3-point goals--Arkansas State 3-8 (Wedel, Ryan 1-4; Chia-Kur, Yima 1-2; Banks, Adrian 1-2), Louisiana-Lafayette 9-23 (Daigle, Randell 3-6; Dees, David 3-4; Bureau, Travis 2-7; Millsap, Elijah 1-2; Lago, Willie 0-1; Gradnigo, Chris 0-3). A-3871
-www.RaginCajuns.com-
