MONROE ? Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns made a strong push in the final six minutes outscoring ULM 23-9, but it was a 14-0 run in the first half by the Warhawks which made the difference in a 73-69 ULM victory here Thursday evening at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
The Cajuns (8-16, 5-8 Sun Belt) made their initial push with an 11-2 run which dropped the ULM lead to 66-57 with 3:41 left to play. ULM (9-15, 5-8 Sun Belt) got two free throws at 3:24 from Rudy Turner and it was 68-57.
Randell Daigle's fifth three-pointer closed the deficit to 68-64 with 45 seconds on the clock. Kenneth Averette missed the front-end of a one-and-one and the Cajuns moved up court with an opportunity to draw closer. Daigle's three-point attempt bounced over the backboard and out-of-bounds to give ULM possession.
ULM finished off the victory at the free throw, resting on the cushion of the 14-point run in the first half.
Louisiana was led by Daigle's 23 points. He made a career-high six 3-point field goals and moved past 100 career three-point makes, now sitting at 102 in 44 career games played.
ULM saw four players reach double figures led by 16 apiece from Averette and Dynile Forbes.
With the loss, Louisiana's four-game win streak over ULM was snapped. The loss combined with losses by Arkansas State and Denver puts UL into a four-way tie for seventh place in the overall Sun Belt standings.
Travis Bureau went coast-to-coast for the Cajuns on their first possession out of the 15-minute media timeout for a 9-7 lead at 14:28. Lawrence Gilbert drove to the hoop and for a layup as he was fouled at 13:42 to even the score at 9-all.
After a missed three-pointer by Bureau, ULM benefited from an offensive putback basket by Rudy Turner at 13:00 for the lead.
Louisiana drew within one point at 12:04 when Willie Lago drilled a trey on the right elbow and it was 13-12. An Adeife slam dunk off a feed from Courtney Wallace at 11:00 closed UL within one point again, 15-14. ULM responded with four unanswered to increase its lead to 19-14 with 10:19 left in the half.
UL pulled even on a Bureau hook shot at 7:10 which knotted the score at 21-21. Four baskets on four straight possessions ? two of the baskets were long-range triples by Forbes ? gave the Warhawks a 10-0 run that opened a 31-21 lead by the 5:22 mark.
Daigle ended the Warhawks run with a stop-and-pop jumper at 4:16 to make it 35-23. ULM would have an answer for every Cajuns point down the stretch and the Cajuns couldn't get any closer than 12 points. After a Daigle jumper at 2:04 made it 39-27, ULM scored the final four points of the half for a 16-point edge.
ULM ended the first half shooting 9-of-11, while Louisiana slipped from its hot start and finished 4-of-13.
La'Ryan Gary provided the Cajuns quick offense in the first 3:15 of the second half, scoring six points. Daigle hit triple as well, but the Warhawks continued to have an answer and the lead remained 16 points at the 15-minute media timeout.
Louisiana made wholesale changes and it provided a spark as Lago, Ryan McCoy, Colby Batiste and Adeife joined Gary out on the court.
Gary jumpstarted a 6-0 run with a jumper that rolled in the rim at 14:22 and the run was capped off with a Lago jumper at the top of the key which cut the ULM lead to 52-42 with 12:57 remaining.
When Ryan McCoy made two free throws at 10:19, the Cajuns dropped the deficit to nine points at 54-45. After a ULM turnover, Louisiana had an opportunity to inch closer. However, after a missed three-pointer by McCoy the Warhawks received a triple from Forbes at 9:12 to return to advantage back to double figures.
The Cajuns had a pair of turnovers and could get only one free throw over the next two-plus minutes and ULM scored five of the next six points to extend its lead back to 16 points. A Forbes layup at 6:16 stretched the lead to 64-46 ? the largest ULM lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns return to the friendly confines of the CAJUNDOME on Valentine's Day for a meeting with Arkansas State. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m., as the second half of a doubleheader with the UL-ASU women's teams. It's the only scheduled meeting this season between the Cajuns and Red Wolves.
