University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Cajuns' Defense Triggers Rally
2/14/2009 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAFAYETTE ? Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns held Arkansas State to two points in the final 4:45 and outscored the Red Wolves 11-2 to post a 54-50 victory here Saturday evening at the CAJUNDOME.
The run was jumpstarted by Jeremy Barr who made a jumper in the paint at 4:24 as he was fouled by Shawn Morgan. He made the free throw to slice the ASU lead to 48-46.
After the Red Wolves (13-12, 5-9 Sun Belt) got two free throws from Larry Handy at 4:12 for a four-point lead, Barr spun through traffic for a one-handed slam at 3:51 which helped the Cajuns (9-16, 6-8 Sun Belt) keep pace.
Louisiana then turned to its defense to force a turnover. Coming out of the three-minute media timeout, Chris Gradnigo connected on his only three-pointer of the game to push UL ahead 51-50 with 3:13 remaining.
Defense sealed the Cajuns' victory as with a two-point lead, 52-50, a blocked shot by Tyren Johnson led to a fastbreak in which Travis Bureau dunked the basketball to up the advantage to 54-50 with only 16 seconds showing on the scoreboard.
The Ragin' Cajuns were led by Bureau's 13 points off the bench. Randell Daigle contributed 12 points.
ASU received a team-best 12 points from starting guard Donald Boone. Boone also had a team-best eight rebounds.
UL forced 15 Red Wolves turnovers which led to 18 points. ASU outboarded UL 39-26 and used 14 second-chance points to hold the lead for the majority of the contest.
Defense was the name of the game in the early minutes. The two teams combined to shoot 2-of-13 and only four points were scored, all by ASU. UL was 0-for-5 to begin the game.
The ASU defense continued to disrupt the Ragin' Cajuns through the 11-minute media timeout. UL was 2-of-13 from the floor and trailed 13-4 with 11:39 left in the first half.
No points were recorded by either team until a Daigle three-point make at the 7:28 mark made it 13-7. Daigle's trey marked the first points scored by either side since the 12:31 mark.
The Red Wolves lead grew to 10 points at 18-8 when Mike Lance made a three-pointer at 4:58. Two triples from Bureau which came at 4:21 and 3:39 gave the Cajuns quick offense and cut the deficit to 21-14.
Louisiana's defense stymied the Red Wolves in the final four minutes and held the visitors to only one free throw. That helped the hosts make a run and trim the ASU lead down to two points at the break.
Bureau hit an off-balanced leaner at 1:57 and it was 22-16. Gradnigo collected an ASU turnover on the ensuing possession and went coast-to-coast for a layup.
ASU turned the ball over and missed a three-pointer on its next two possessions. Johnson waltzed through the lane for a reverse slam dunk with 40 seconds left to trim the ASU advantage to 22-20.
The start of the second half featured more offense compared to the first half. Both team's scored points in spurts and after a Gradnigo layup at 16:06 the team's had swapped seven points and the ASU lead remained two points.
Boone hit a short-range jumper for the Red Wolves at 15:49 and after a Cajuns missed field goal, Morgan was all alone in the backcourt where he received an outlet pass for an easy layup at 15:26 which made it 33-27 ASU.
When Bureau made a triple out on the left wing at 10:47, the Cajuns drew the game's first tie at 39-all.
The score was tied twice and the lead changed twice over the next four minutes. The Red Wolves, who trailed 43-41, rolled of seven unanswered to take a five-point cushion into the final stretch.
In the next outing, Louisiana visits Denver for a meeting with the Pioneers on Thursday, Feb. 19. Game time is 8 p.m. (CST) at Magness Arena and Fox Sports Net will televise the contest. The Cajuns rallied from a 15-point, first-half deficit to force overtime and down DU 63-62 in double OT on Jan. 3 in the CAJUNDOME.
Louisiana's next home game takes place on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 7:15 p.m., against New Orleans in the CAJUNDOME.
