Cajuns Attempt at Arkansas Sweep Spoiled by ASU Comeback

Box Score

The Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team shot nearly 60 percent in building a double figure halftime lead, but shot below 40 percent in the second stanza and saw Arkansas State outscore them by 15 points in the second half on the way to a 79-74 victory Saturday evening at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.

Louisiana (10-11, 4-3 Sun Belt) led 44-34 at halftime, but was outscored 45-30 in the second stanza by Arkansas State (9-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) as the attempt to sweep the Arkansas road swing was spoiled by the Red Wolves' comeback.

Trey Finn's three-pointer with 5:37 remaining gave ASU the lead for good at 68-65. The Cajuns missed two shots on the ensuing possession and Finn scored a layup at 4:37 to extend the lead to 70-65.

Bryant Mbamalu cut the ASU lead to 70-67 with 2:59 left, but Brandon Peterson grabbed an offensive rebound and drew a foul for two free throws that brought the lead back to five points. A turnover by Kadeem Coleby led to a Marcus Hooten drive through the lane for a layup at 2:08 and it was 74-67.

An Mbamalu putback with 36 seconds left pulled UL within four points, 76-72, and Ed Townsel missed the front-end of a one-and-one free throw situation. Finn would grab the offensive rebound, draw a foul and hit two freebies that stretched the lead to six points.

The Cajuns shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) in the first half to offset being outrebounded 18-11 and committed only three turnovers. UL was held to 38.7 percent (12-of-31) in the second half, surrendered 23 rebounds and committed 11 turnovers.

J.J. Thomas led the Cajuns with a game-high 20 points. He was joined in double figures by Mbamalu (17) and Coleby (16).

The Red Wolves were paced by the trio of Peterson (19), Finn (17) and Malcoln Kirkland (14) which produced 50 of ASU's 79 points. With the win ASU posted its third straight win over Louisiana in the Convocation Center, improving to 12-9 in the facility vs. the Cajuns.

The Ragin' Cajuns return home to face North Texas at the Cajundome on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The game is the second half of a doubleheader with the UL-NT women and begins at 7:15 p.m.

The Red Wolves scored the game's first five points grabbing a 5-0 lead on a Finn triple at 18:40. UL trimmed the early deficit to one point following two free throws from Mbamalu and a leaner from Josh Brown off a feed from Darshawn McClellan at 17:23.

ASU answered with a Kirkland stuff and Peterson finger roll during the 16-minute mark to re-establish the five-point edge heading into the first media timeout.

Louisiana shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor over the next four minutes, outscored the Red Wolves 14-8 and carried an 18-17 lead into the next media timeout.

An Alan-Michael Thompson field goal make at 10:19 gave the Cajuns a 22-21 lead and was the last of seven straight scoring possessions in which the two teams swapped the lead.

It was still a one-point lead for UL inside of eight minutes after Thompson and Townsel swapped three-pointers. Thomas drained a three at the top of the key at 7:33 to increase the lead to 28-24 and the Cajuns began to gain breathing room.

Following a McClellan steal coming out of the media timeout, Brown would register a layup on a fastbreak for UL which upped the lead to 30-24 with 6:38 left in the opening stanza.

After ASU dropped the lead to 34-30 at the 2:46 mark, the Ragin' Cajuns scored on four of their final five possessions of the half finishing with a Coleby three-point play at 0:22 that created a 44-34 halftime lead.

Both teams start the second half shooting 4-of-5 through the first three-plus minutes and the Cajuns maintained their 10-point advantage at 52-42 with 16:24 on the clock.

When Rakeem Dickerson was credited with a layup on basket interference at 13:52 and made the free throw to complete the three-point play the Red Wolves had cut the deficit to 52-50.

UL answered back as Coleby posted a tap-in on a third chance following a missed Thomas triple, then Brown collected a steal near half court and raced in for a slam at 13:14 that stretched the lead to 56-50.

The Red Wolves rolled off their second 8-0 spurt of the second stanza following Brown's dunk and jumped in front 58-56 with 10:47 remaining after a triple by Finn.

Thomas provided the next five Cajuns points with a three-point play at 10:31 and a jumper at 9:41 that evened the score at 61-all.

-- Ragin' Cajuns --

Cajuns Attempt at Arkansas Sweep Spoiled by ASU Comeback

Next Event

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics