Cajuns Open Shipley Classic With Win Over HBU

Box Score

The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team opened play in the Beryl Shipley Classic presented by Budweiser with a 73-64 victory over Houston Baptist Friday evening at the Cajundome.

The game marked the 2011-12 home opener for Louisiana (2-2) and was the first home opening victory since the 2007-08 season. The Ragin' Cajuns home win streak at the Cajundome, which dates back to last season, was extended to eight games.

UL started slow, shooting below 20 percent in the first nine minutes and fell behind by as many as five points twice. The Cajuns shot above 60 percent the remainder of the half and erased a 20-15 deficit by outscoring Houston Baptist (1-2) by a 22-8 margin in the final six minutes for a 37-28 halftime edge.

Louisiana's lead remained seven points or greater the entire second half as the squad coasted to a victory which snapped a two-game losing streak.

The Cajuns continue play in the Beryl Shipley Classic on Saturday meeting Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m.

Josh Brown scored a season-high 17 points to lead the Cajuns. Kadeem Coleby tied a season-high with 16 points. Brown narrowly missed a double-double finishing with a game-high nine rebounds.

The Cajuns dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Huskies 36-18. The bench, which averaged 35.3 points in the San Francisco Hilltop Challenge, poured in 27 points led by Darshawn McClellan's eight points.

HBU received a team-high 15 points from Tyler Russell.

UL's defense held the Huskies to 29 percent shooting (18-of-62) improving the team's record to 2-0 when holding the opposition below 40 percent shooting.

It was a slow start for Louisiana as the squad opened the game 3-of-16 from the floor and trailed HBU 8-6 at the 11-minute media timeout.

A triple by Russell at 10:40 pushed the Huskies ahead 13-8, the largest lead at that point in the contest for the visitors.

UL drew even twice getting a jumper from Bryant Mbamalu at 7:05 to create a 15-all tie. HBU used a 5-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Ronald March for a 20-15 lead with six minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

A basket by Darnell Jackson at 5:40 ignited a 10-0 run by Louisiana that pulled the hosts in front 25-20 by the 3:52 mark.

HBU cut the UL lead to 27-24 by the three minute mark, but a three-point make by Brown at 2:44 extended the lead to 30-24. The next five Cajuns points came from Coleby and upped the advantage to 35-25 with 1:21 left in the half.

Brown paced the Cajuns in the first half with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. After a sluggish start from the field, UL ended the half shooting 12-of-19 (63 percent) in the final 11:16.

Jackson opened the scoring in the second half with a triple at 18:21 that returned the Cajuns lead back to double figures at 40-28. Marcel Smith answered with a triple of his own for HBU at 16:56 to cut the deficit to 40-31.

The Cajuns lead hovered between seven and nine points until a pair of McClellan free throws at 12:18 increased the advantage to 52-41.

Three-point makes from David Perez helped the Cajuns maintain their edge over the Huskies as the squad held a 58-48 lead with 10:58 left to play.

Louisiana answered every HBU tally from that point on and maintained a double figure advantage until a pair of free throws by Russell with 47.5 seconds remaining lowered the Huskies deficit to 71-62.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Open Shipley Classic With Win Over HBU

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