Last-Minute Stand Holds off McNeese

LAFAYETTE ? It didn't matter that Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team went nearly 11 minutes without a field goal down the stretch of Tuesday's game with McNeese State at the CAJUNDOME. What mattered most was the team made three field goals in the final 38 seconds to finish off a 73-64 victory.

After seeing a 64-47 lead dwindle down to 67-64 with one minute to play during the field goal drought, the Cajuns made key baskets and pulled down key defensive rebounds to hold off McNeese.

La'Ryan Gary made a jumper at the top of the key with 38 seconds remaining ending the field goal drought and stretching the lead to 69-64. After a missed three-pointer by C.J. Collins, Chris Gradnigo nabbed the defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a slam dunk with 20 seconds on the clock.

The exclamation point came when Travis Bureau pulled down the rebound off a missed three-pointer by Diego Kapelan and sent a long pass down the court to Gary who slammed home the final points with four seconds left.

The Ragin' Cajuns (2-3) posted their second straight victory and ended McNeese's two-game win streak in the series. The 73 points scored by UL marked the first time this season a McNeese opponent broke 70 points.

Tyren Johnson led Louisiana in scoring for the second straight game. He posted 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He was joined in double figures by Gary (13 points), Bureau (12 points) and Gradnigo (11 points).

McNeese received a game-high 16 points from Kleon Penn.

The Cowboys began the game with a flurry of points, scoring six before one minute expired. A Bureau three-pointer at 18:34 got UL on the scoreboard and it was 6-3.

MSU regained its six-point lead at 16:49 when Collins drained a triple to make it 11-5. Johnson jumpstarted UL with a three-point make of his own at the 16:38 mark. That began a 10-0 run for the Cajuns.

When Jeremy Barr buried a jumper from the free throw line at 14:25 Louisiana had its first lead of the night 12-11. The 10-point run was capped off by a pair of Ryan McCoy free throws and a freebie by Barr at 12:38 and UL led 15-11.

MSU drew even with baskets by P.J. Alawoya and Kapelan at 12:23 and 11:35. McCoy sent a no-look pass through the lane to Johnson for a layup that put UL up 17-15 at 11:15.

The Cowboys briefly reclaimed the lead with 9:18 left in the opening half when Alawoya knocked down a jumper at the top of the key to put McNeese in front 20-19. That lead didn't last very long as Bureau put the Cajuns back in the lead with a triple at the 9:07 mark. After a tie at 22-all, the Cajuns broke free with six unanswered.

Later in the half, Louisiana was able to extend the lead in the final five minutes. The Cajuns went on a 7-0 run to build a 38-26 lead. The Cajuns maintained that point cushion and carried a 42-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Johnson was involved in three-point scoring plays for Louisiana during the first three minutes of the second half. Those plays helped the Cajuns spread the 12-point halftime deficit to 15 points, twice.

Johnson was fouled after he rebounded his own miss at 18:45. He made the basket and free throw to push the Cajuns lead to 47-32. The Cowboys crept back within 12 points by 17:27. A pair of free throws by Pichon made it 48-36.

Johnson single-handedly scored five points to give UL its largest lead at the time. He drilled a trey near the top of the key and on the ensuing possession picked off a pass and ran it back for a reverse slam dunk pushing the Cajuns lead to 53-36 with 16:55 remaining.

McNeese gradually worked its way back to the deficit it started the second half with. Down 57-39, the Cowboys used an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 59-47. The run was capped by a spin-move basket by Adrien Garr at 12:32.

As with the other 12-point leads, the Cajuns broke free for five unanswered. Gradnigo connected on a three-point attempt on the left wing at 12:11 upping the lead to 62-47. After Billy Cotton turned the ball over on McNeese's next possession, Gary scored a basket and the Cajuns were on top by 17 at the 11:34 mark.

After Gary's basket, McNeese scored the game's next 10 points and the Cajuns' comfortable lead had shrunk to seven points just inside of eight minutes. A free throw by Bureau at 7:30 moved the Cajuns lead to 65-57. However, the field goal drought would continue and the Cowboys scored a string of six points and it was 65-63 when the clock neared four minutes.

McNeese had possession of the ball coming out of the three-minute media timeout. Pichon had a good look at the basket, but missed a jumper in the lane and the Cajuns recovered. McCoy was fouled at 3:29 and made one free throw upping the lead to 66-63.

The Cajuns dodged a bullet at 1:37 when a three-point attempt by C.J. Collins was off the mark. On the return trip, Barr made one of two free throws to make it 67-63. The Cowboys got one of the free throws back when Patrick Richard made the second of two attempts at 1:12.

The Cajuns held on to their lead thanks to the flurry of points and key defensive rebounds in the final 38 seconds.

Louisiana travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this weekend to face SEC-member Alabama on Sunday, Dec. 7. The tipoff is slated for 12 Noon at UA's Coleman Coliseum.

The Ragin' Cajuns are next at the CAJUNDOME on Saturday, Dec. 13 when they meet Louisiana College at 7:05 p.m.

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