University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Texas College
Steers' Late Three-Pointer Downs Cajuns
12/12/2010 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
In a closely contested game which saw 18 lead changes and 17 ties, a three-pointer with three seconds left allowed Texas College to claim a 77-74 decision over Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team on Sunday at the Cajundome.
A lay-up from Randell Daigle had tied the game at 74-74 with 11.3 seconds, but Texas College moved the ball up the court in the waning seconds to hit the game winner.
The loss was the Cajuns' sixth straight and now brings them to 1-7 this season.
Travis Bureau scored the Cajuns' first seven points on 3-for-3 shooting. The rest of the squad was 0-for-8 as UL trailed, 7-12, with 15:18 remaining in the first half.
A three-pointer by La'Ryan Gary at the 13:30 mark gave the Cajuns their first lead of the game, 16-14.
But UL could not pull away by more than two points and found the score tied back up at 26-26 with 9:15 left in the half.
The Steers stretched the lead to as much as six points before a lay-up from Scottie Farrington reclaimed the lead with 29.7 seconds left in the first half. Yet Texas College converted a three-point play with 17 seconds left to hold a 38-37 lead at the half.
UL looked to start off the second half hot, scoring four straight points to take its largest lead of the game, 41-38, at the 18:29 mark.
However, Texas College came charging back to reclaim the lead, 50-46, with 13:09 left in the game. The Steers' lead held firm over the next few possessions as UL still trailed, 51-56, with 9:48 remaining.
The Cajuns were able to tie the game up three more times after quick runs by Texas College but with 3:04 left the Steers led, 67-69.
A pair of free throws, from J.J. Thomas knotted the score and was followed by another free throw by Gary to give UL the lead, 70-69.
The lead did not last long as Texas College hit two free throws of their own to grab a 71-70 lead with just 1:18 remaining on the clock.
Trailing with 20 seconds left, UL was forced to foul. The Steers made the first but the second clanged off the rim allowing the Cajuns to grab the rebound.
Daigle took advantage and drove to the rim, netting a lay-up with 11.3 left on the clock and tying the game at 74-74.
But with less than three seconds, Texas College connected on a three-pointer to seal the 77-74 win.
Thomas led UL with 15 points and 11 rebounds, marking his first career double-double.
Gary chipped in 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting while Farrington scored 14 points and grabbed nine boards. Three other players tallied nine points each in the loss.
The Cajuns outrebounded the Steers, 49-29, including a 23-3 advantage on the offensive glass. But Texas College was better from the floor on the day with a 50.9 shooting percentage (27-53). UL struggled in the second half (12-33) to finish the day connecting on 27-of-69 (39.1) The Cajuns also had trouble from the charity stripe with a 15-for-26 effort (57.7 percent).
The Steers took advantage of 16 UL turnovers and converted them into 20 points for the visiting squad.
The Cajuns will now hit the road for a contest against UCF in Orlando, Fla. on Wednesday, Dec. 15. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
