Cajuns Top Lumberjacks in Hilltop Challenge Opener

Box Score

The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team shot above 60 percent and held Northern Arizona below 40 percent in the 2011-12 season opener at the Hilltop Challenge in San Francisco on Friday evening, and the result was a 83-66 victory to start the second season of the Bob Marlin era.

Louisiana (1-0) shot 63 percent in the opening stanza to grab a double figure lead by halftime. In the second half the squad converted 12 of its first 16 field goal attempts to push the lead over 20 points on three different occasions.

When the Lumberjacks (0-1) crawled within nine points, 74-65 at 4:02 on a Michael Dunn layup, the Ragin' Cajuns went to a pair of veterans to close out the triumph.

Off the inbounds pass following the three-minute media timeout, J.J. Thomas fought his was through traffic for a layup that returned the lead to double figures at 76-65. Following a pair of defensive stops on the ensuing possession, Raymone Andrews buried a triple with 2:31 remaining to stretch the lead to 79-65.

UL limited NAU to one free throw make the rest of the game and finished off the victory at the free throw line.

Louisiana shot 33-of-53 (62.3 percent) from the field, hitting 60-plus percent in both halves. NAU was limited to 20-of-57 (35.1 percent) from the field and shot just 29 percent (7-of-24) in the first half.

Kadeem Coleby led the Cajuns with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in his Division I debut. Darshawn McClellan provided 13 points off the bench and Bryant Mbamalu added 13 points.

James Douglas scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Lumberjacks.

UL continues play in the Hilltop Challenge on Saturday facing North Dakota State at 10:30 p.m. (CDT). The game can be heard on Sports Radio ESPN 1420 AM.

The Cajuns built an 8-0 advantage in the first four minutes receiving seven points from Mbamalu.

UL built a 10-point edge twice following the first media timeout. Elfrid Payton converted a layup at 15:49 then fed David Perez in the lane for a reverse layup at 15:26 to increase the lead to 12-2.

After the Lumberjacks trimmed the deficit to 12-7, McClellan provided five unanswered points on consecutive possessions burying a triple at 14:38 and scoring inside off a Mbamalu feed at 13:58 to increase the lead to 17-7.

NAU used a 16-4 run to grab the lead by the 8:02 mark. An inside basket by Ephraim Ekanem gave the Lumberjacks a 23-21 edge.

The Cajuns didn't trail for long, though, as Thomas knocked down a basket at 7:41 to create a 23-all tie, then following a steal Josh Brown went coast-to-coast for a layup at 7:19 to put UL in front 25-23.

A pair of freebies by Douglas at 5:06 allowed NAU to even the score again. The Cajuns defense took over shutting down the Lumberjacks for the next four-plus minutes leading to a 15-2 run that ended the first half and built a 40-27 edge at halftime.

Ahead 28-25, a three-point make by Darnell Jackson at 2:40 was the first of three straight scores that moved the lead into double figures. After an NAU turnover, Perez converted a layup then following a Lumberjacks missed field goal Perez scored a layup at 1:46 for a 35-25 lead.

The Cajuns began the second half 4-of-5 from the floor to maintain the double-digit lead, holding a 49-36 at the 15-minute media timeout.

UL began to pull away with Coleby doing the damage inside. Following the timeout he scored on three straight possessions to extend the lead to 55-36 with 13:15 remaining.

Three-point field goal makes from McClellan at 10:58 and Alan-Michael Thompson at 10:19 stretched the Cajuns lead to 20-plus points for the first time in the game, 65-44.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Top Lumberjacks in Hilltop Challenge Opener

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