University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Florida Atlantic
Close One Gets Away From Cajuns
2/12/2010 2:38:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sanchez Hughley hit the game-winning layup with 20.5 showing on the clock after the Cajuns (11-13, 8-5 Sun Belt) had overcome a 12-point second half deficit to lead 69-68 with 1:50 left.
Down 12 points at halftime, the Cajuns were able to cut the Owls' lead to nine in the first 35 seconds of the second stanza.
UL had trouble getting closer than nine points with both Chris Gradnigo and Colby Batiste committing their fourth fouls less than four minutes into the second half.
The Cajuns were slowly able to chip away at the FAU lead. Baskets by Randell Daigle and Travis Bureau cut the deficit down to seven, 55-48, with 14:05 still to play.
A jumper by Raymone Andrews and layups by Lamar Roberson and Daigle pulled UL within three, 57-54, at 9:49. Another defensive stop by the Cajuns turned into a short jumper from Tyren Johnson and just a one-point deficit with over nine minutes to play.
A triple by Greg Gantt stopped the Cajuns' 8-0 run, but it was answered by a triple from Daigle with one second remaining on the shot clock.
Consecutive baskets by Andrews and Roberson gave the Cajuns their first lead, 63-62, at the 6:28 mark.
The UL lead would only last 23 seconds, as FAU (13-12, 9-5 Sun Belt) used a 4-0 spurt to get back a small cushion. The Cajuns came back with buckets by Roberson and Johnson to again grab a one-point lead with 2:52 to play.
Consecutive lay-ups from Hughley put the Owls in front 72-69 with 72 seconds left in the game.Daigle tied the game with a three-pointer from the wing with 52.5 seconds left, but Hughley responded again with the eventual game-winner.
Johnson led Louisiana with 19 points and six rebounds - scoring in double figures for the 13th consecutive game. Gradnigo scored 15 points and is now 16 points away from 1,000 in his career. He played just 21 minutes on the night after being in foul trouble for the entire game. Daigle capped three Cajuns in double figures, scoring 17 points.
All five FAU starters finished in double figures, led by 23 points from Gantt. Brett Royster led all players with 11 rebounds.
The Owls victory continued the trend of the home team winning each game in the series, which FAU now leads 3-2. Louisiana saw its three-game win streak snapped.
Both teams shot greater than 50 percent, but FAU held the edge in rebounds 35-25. UL finished 5-of-11 from three-point range a year after shooting just 2-for-38 at FAU Arena.
FAU took an early 7-2 lead, but the Cajuns stormed back to tie the game at 9-9 on an alley-oop dunk by Johnson. The Owls reclaimed a five-point lead, but UL tied the game at 17-17 with 11:42 left in the first half.
The Owls built an 11-point lead thanks to an abundance of points in the paint. Meanwhile, the Cajuns were missing their opportunities closest to the basket, including two missed lay-ups and a botched dunk.
Leading 37-26 at the 3:14 mark, FAU had 16 points in the paint, but then went on a three-point attack. Triples from Gantt and Raymond Taylor, around a basket inside by Royster, pushed the host's lead to 45-30 with 1:21 to play in the first 20 minutes.
Gradnigo scored five straight for the Cajuns, but Alex Tucker hit a short jumper at the buzzer to give FAU a 12-point lead at the half.
The Ragin' Cajuns finish off their two-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 13 in Mobile, Ala., where they will face South Alabama's Jaguars at the Mitchell Center. Tipoff scheduled for approximately 7:05 p.m.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
