University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Little Rock
Cajuns Edged by UALR, 61-58
2/23/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAFAYETTE-Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team missed a three-pointer with seven seconds to play and fell to the UALR Trojans, 61-58, Saturday night at the CAJUNDOME.
The loss dropped the Cajuns to 13-14 on the season and 9-7 in Sun Belt Conference action, while the Trojans improved to 17-10 overall and into a tie with UL in the Sun Belt West at 9-7.
The game was tightly contested with seven lead changes and eight ties. Neither team led by more than six points.
Elijah Millsap and Chris Gradnigo were the only two Cajuns to score double-digit points on the night. Millsap finished with a game-high 13 points, while Gradnigo ended the game with 11.
The Trojans scored the first four points of the second half to take a six-point edge. The Cajuns countered with a pair of free throws by Willie Lago and a triple from Chris Gradnigo to trim the visitors lead to one point.
Baskets from Courtney Wallace and Gradnigo helped the Cajuns take a 38-37 lead at 13:57, their first since the 12:16 mark of the first half.
UALR's field goal drought hit 6:10 until Terrance Akins banked in a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Trojans back in front.
Wallace then made four from the stripe over two possessions to give the Cajuns the lead, but UALR rallied with a 6-0 run to take the lead back.
A steal by Elijah Millsap led to a three-point play that tied the game at 47-47 with 6:29 remaining.
The game remained back-and-forth for the next three minutes until a three-point play by Steven Moore gave UALR the lead and the momentum.
The two teams were knotted 54-54 with 3:43 remaining in the ballgame.
UALR gained the lead and increased their advantage to four points with 2:35 remaining at 58-54.
Millsap cut the deficit to just one point as he drained a triple from the top of the key with just 51 ticks remaining on the game clock.
The two teams exchanged free throws over the next 30 seconds, and John Fowler's free throw with 15 seconds to play gave the Trojans a 61-58 edge.
Millsap's three-point attempt with seven seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime rimmed out and UALR collected the defensive rebound securing the victory.
The Cajuns found themselves trailing at the half in part to 32 percent shooting from the floor during the opening 20 minutes. UALR made 50 percent of their shots, including a 3-for-4 effort from behind the arc.
The Cajuns led for the first eight minutes of the game until a triple by Akins gave UALR their first lead, 14-12, at the 11:53 mark.
UALR build a five-point lead until Travis Bureau converted a four-point play to draw the Cajuns within one point, 20-19, at 6:26.
From there, the Trojans scored five unanswered points to grab their biggest lead of the first half, 25-19.
Randell Daigle and Lago nailed triples to tie the game with 3:09 remaining.
Tyren Johnson appeared to give the Cajuns the lead with a three-pointer, but it was waived off after an offensive foul was called on Lago. UALR held a two-point lead after 20 minutes.
The Cajuns return to action on Thursday when they host
