University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Troy
Team Effort Leads UL To 93-91 Win
1/6/2011 7:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Five players reached double figures as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns held off Troy for 93-91 win at the Cajundome on Thursday night. Dating back to last season, the win was the 10th straight for the Cajuns against Sun Belt opponents on their home court.
Travis Bureau led the way with a season-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Randell Daigle posted 17 points while Bryant Mbamalu and Courtney Wallace had 11 each. It was a season-high for Wallace as the senior forward was a perfect 7-of-7 from the Charity stripe. J.J. Thomas rounded out the effort with 10 points.
It was the first time five players have reached double figures since Feb.4, 2010 against FIU.
The Cajuns (3-12, 1-3 Sun Belt) shot 50.0 percent on the night (30-60) while Troy (2-12, 0-2 Sun Belt) was an impressive 54.8 from the floor (34-62). The difference came at the free throw line with UL connecting on a season-best 81.3 percent effort (26-32) compared to the Trojans' 16-of-25 showing (64. percent).
Another big boost for the Cajuns was a season-best performance from the UL bench. The non-starters combined for 46 points on the night.
The score went back-and-forth for the first eight minutes of the second half as both teams shooting settled down from a hot first half. The lead changed hands nine times and saw the score tied up another three.
Neither team led by more three points as a pair of free throws from Josh Brown at the 11:49 mark gave UL a 64-63 edge.
UL was able to put some distance on the Trojans after Wallace scored five straight points in a 33-second span to give UL a 73-68 lead with 9:21 remaining.
But the Cajuns could not put the Trojans away. Troy eventually reclaimed the lead, 83-82, with 3:31 remaining after a 6-0 run.
Five straight points, including a deep three-pointer, from Daigle, swung the score back to UL, 87-85, by the 2:57 mark.
After being fouled on a three-point attempt, David Perez hit two free throws to maintain a three-point lead, 90-87, with 44 ticks on the clock. Troy hit a jumper of its own, but the Cajuns went the length of the court with Bureau making a lay-up.
An empty possession and a foul by Troy put Bureau on the line. A made free throw stretched the lead to four as Troy answered with a jumper of their own.
A turnover by UL with 11 seconds on Troy's end of the court looked to prove costly, but the defense tightened up and held on to claim the 93-91 win
To start the contest, UL jumped out to a 13-7 led at the 15:21 mark with Mbamalu scoring eight points on 3-for-3 shooting.
The Cajuns stretched their lead to as many as eight points, thanks to a three-pointer from Perez. But the Trojans responded with one of their own to make the score 31-26 with 7:24 remaining.
Every time the Cajuns looked to pull away, Troy made a shot of their own to keep the contest close. The Cajuns were up by as many as nine before the Trojans cut the lead to four, 41-37, with 3:41 left in the half.
Troy kept chipping away at UL's lead before taking its first lead of the contest, 47-46, with just under a minute left on the heels of an 8-2 run. The Trojans would take the slight advantage into the break.
Both teams shot over 55 percent for the first half. UL posted the better percentage, 57.7, on 15-of-26 shooting. Troy knocked down 56.3 percent from the floor on an 18-of-32 effort.
The Ragin' Cajuns athletics department and men's basketball program have announced a change for Saturday's Sun Belt contest against Middle Tennessee at the Cajundome.
Tip-off has been moved to 7:30 p.m. in order to allow fans the opportunity to enjoy the New Orleans Saints NFC Playoff game, which begins at 3:30 p.m. Tip-off was originally scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday's game are available at the Cajundome box office or call (337) 265-2100 to purchase your individual game tickets.
