University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Red Wolves Shooting Downs Cajuns, 74-65
1/13/2011 11:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Cajuns (3-13, 1-4 SBC) were 24-for-58 from the floor while the Red Wolves (8-10, 3-2 SBC) knocked down 29-of-54 shots. It was the sixth straight game in which an opponent has shot better than 45 percent from the floor.
The Cajuns quickly fell behind, 10-2, by the first media timeout as the Red Wolves were a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. UL struggled to find its stroke after starting 1-for-5.
J.J. Thomas then proceeded to knock down three-straight baskets but the Cajuns still trailed 15-9 with 13:47 to go. Thomas was responsible for all nine of the Cajuns' points on 4-for-5 shooting.
Arkansas State continued to knock down shot after shot and built up a 30-15 lead with eight minutes to go. The Red Wolves hit 56.5 percent of their shots (13-23) thru the first 12 minutes compared to the Cajuns' 33.3 percent (6-18).
The Cajuns' offense finally found a spark and closed the gap, 30-25, after a 10-0 run with 4:22 left in the half
But the Red Wolves hit three three-pointers to quickly reestablish their lead, taking a 43-34 advantage into the half.
UL started out the second half sluggish, hitting just 2-of-7, as ASU maintained a 47-38 lead with 15:52 remaining.
The Cajuns closed the gap to six points, 49-43, by 14:28 but would come no closer until a lay-up from Thomas at the 8:35 mark cut ASU's lead to 61-56.
The Red Wolves lead by as much as 11 until another lay-up from Thomas cut the deficit back to five, 68-63, with 3:07 remaining.
The lay-up capped off a 7-0 run as UL kept ASU off the scoreboard for almost five minutes but still found itself down 70-65 with 1:16 left.
Thomas led UL with 16 points and 10 rebounds as he recorded his second double-double of the year. Javan Mitchell finished with a career-high 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Bryant Mbamalu finished the night with 11 points and six rebounds.
UL won the battle of the boards, 40-30, including a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Now the Cajuns will head to Little Rock, Ark. to face UALR (10-9, 2-2 SBC) on Saturday, Jan. 15. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT following the conclusion of the women's game.
