University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Open Two-Game Road Swing at FIU
2/4/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME CENTER
Date: Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Opponent: FIU Golden Panthers (6-15, 3-8 Sun Belt)
Site: Pharmed Arena (5,000); Miami, Fla.
Game Time: 6:30 p.m.
Radio: Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network
Local Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KRKA)
Radio Talent: Jay Walker (P-by-P)
Game Night Story Lines: After missing an opportunity to move into a first place tie in the Sun Belt West Division following a UALR loss, Louisiana finds itself in a three-way tie for second place entering Wednesday's contest at FIU...Louisiana will aim to snap its two-game losing streak at Pharmed Arena and move back to plus-.500 in league play...The Cajuns are 3-7 on an opponent's home court this season, while winning two of five Sun Belt road games...Sophomore forward Tyren Johnson scored a game- and career-high 15 in a 57-51 loss to Middle Tennessee Thursday night. Johnson was the Cajuns' only player in double figures, marking the second time in three games that just one Cajun reached double digits...In Thursday's six-point defeat, Louisiana held as much as an 11-point lead, 24-13, in the first half. Louisiana has held a 10-plus-point lead in eight of its 10 Sun Belt Conference contests this season...Since hitting 30 three-pointers in three games, including a season-high 14 vs. East Tennessee State, at the Rainbow Classic in Hawai`i, Louisiana hasn't reached double figures in the last 10 games...Louisiana scored a season-low 20 points in the second half of the six-point loss to the Blue Raiders, while holding MT to a season-low 21 points in the second stanza...Despite holding its opponent to a new season-low, MT still out-rebounded the Cajuns 49-27 - the largest rebounding margin this season...Louisiana shot less than 40 percent from the floor for the first time in eight games. UL has also shot less than 30 percent from three-point range in four straight contests.
FIU Preview. Josh White scored 16 points and made four free throws that put North Texas ahead for good in the second half of a 60-57 victory against FIU on Saturday. White was 7-of-9 from the line for the Mean Green, including a 4-for-5 effort that turned a 53-52 deficit with 5:03 remaining into a 56-53 lead at the 3:11 mark...Russell Hicks scored 18 points to lead the Golden Panthers and Alex Galindo scored 17...Keith Wooden had six points on just 3-of-10 shooting for North Texas, but his layup with 58 seconds left pushed his team's lead back to 58-55. After Florida International scored, Tristan Thompson hit two free throws with 11 seconds left for a 60-57 lead. Thompson was 7-of-7 from the line and finished with 11 points. FIU missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer...White hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half to give North Texas its largest lead at 32-20...Hicks led the Golden Panthers back to start the second half, scoring 12 points on a 21-11 run that tied the score at 43 with 11:13 remaining. Neither team led by more than three after that.After the FIU game...Louisiana faces the Denver Pioneers Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). FSN Rocky Mountain will carry the game live from Magness Arena. Fans can watch the game locally on KLFT-TV (Cox Channel 135) including live pre- and post-game shows hosted by Dan McDonald and Don Allen.
A Win by Louisiana...would snap the Cajuns' two-game losing streak at FIU.
A Loss by Louisiana...would extend Louisiana's losing streak at FIU to three games.
There You Go, Gradnigo. Entering Thursday's contest at South Alabama, freshman Chris Gradnigo had missed his last 12 three-point field goals and was 0-for-2008 from downtown...Gradnigo answered the call, scoring a game-high 19 points, while draining a career-high-tying eight field goals, including three triples...Prior to his 19-point effort, Gradnigo had managed just 23 points in his previous six games...Gradnigo added 10 points in Sunday's win at Troy, finishing the week 12-of-16 from the floor.
Double-Digit Turnaround...Thursday, Louisiana led by as many as 13 points in the first half, leading South Alabama 34-21 with less than three minutes remaining until halftime. However, after the Jaguars cut the Cajuns' lead to seven at the half, South Alabama out-scored the Cajuns by 13 points in the second stanza to hand Louisiana its fourth straight Sun Belt loss...It was Louisiana's third double-digit lead relinquished in the last six games.
20-Plus. Louisiana's 21-point thumping of the Troy Trojans Sunday was the largest margin of victory for the Cajuns this season...The Ragin' Cajuns have only held a 20-point lead twice this season - both have come against SBC competition. UL led by as many as 29 points vs. Florida Atlantic on Dec. 29 before winning by 19.
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