University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, March 14
New Orleans, La.
1:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
20-13
79
vs
83
Georgia State
23-9
1
2
F
UL Lafayette
27
52
79
Georgia State
44
39
83
Team Stats
UL-L
GSU
FG%
.482
.482
3FG%
.364
.250
FT%
.680
.813
RB
32
32
TO
21
15
STL
10
17
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Late Rally Not Enough As Cajuns Fall To Georgia State
3/14/2015 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns got 17 points off the bench from Devonta Walker, but even a late comeback attempt could not erase a 24-point second half deficit as the top-seeded Georgia State Panthers moved on with a 83-79 win in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Lakefront Arena.
Louisiana (20-13) trailed by 14 points at the half after turning the ball over 13 times in the opening 20 minutes, and by as much as 24 points early in the second half. But the Cajuns held the Panthers (23-9) to just five field goals in the final 12 minutes of play and ended the game by scoring 15 of the game's final 18 points.
"We dug ourselves a hole in the first half." Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin said after the game. "Our guys played hard until the end, I'm proud of their efforts. If only we'd had a little bit more time. I like the way we fought at the end. We finally made some three point shots, which was good, but there were too many turnovers early and too many layups for them.
Four Ragin' Cajuns finished in double figures, led by Walker's 17, his most since scoring a career-high 23 at Northwestern State on December 20. Kasey Shepherd hit four triples, finishing with 16 points, five assists and three steals.
Shawn Long and Bryce Washington both put in 10 points apiece, combining for 15 rebounds, while Jay Wright led the Cajuns with six assists. Hayward Register connected on three treys, and Johnathan Stove seven points and Steven Wronkoski added five with each aiding in the Cajuns late rally.
The Cajuns hit eight three-point baskets on the night, with six coming in the second half and three in the game's final minute. But UL also finished with 21 turnovers – the most since December 17 – with the Panthers picking off 17 steals.
"I don't think we were aggressive enough," UL junior Kasey Shepherd said. "We were stagnant on offense and played a little conservative. I think we should have attacked more and smarter. Too many turnovers in the first half that dug us in a hole that unfortunately we couldn't get out of."
R.J. Hunter had a Sun Belt Tournament record eight of those steals and finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-for-22 from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line. Markus Crider also added 15 points and Isaiah Dennis had 10 points off the bench for the Panthers, who move on to the SBC Tournament championship game for the second consecutive year and will face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 Georgia Southern and No. 3 ULM.
Louisiana started off well, attacking the Georgia State zone and getting six quick points from Washington to stake itself to a 10-6 lead in the first four minutes; however, the Panthers then got eight points from Hunter during a 13-0 run to go in front 19-10 before Washington's fourth bucket of the game.
The Panthers upped that to 25-14 before a quick 7-0 run by UL behind four points from Walker and a three from Register cut it to 25-21 with 6:41 to play. But the Cajuns turned it over on their next three possessions, all leading to GSU buckets.
Shepherd hit a three with 1:48 to play to make it 35-26, but GSU finished the half on a 9-1 run, including a breakaway dunk from Dennis just before the halftime buzzer to take a 44-27 lead into the break. In all, the Cajuns turned it over 13 times in the opening period, trailing 22-1 in points off of turnovers.
Georgia State scored eight of the first 11 points of the second half to peak its advantage at 54-30 with 15:52. It was still at a 24-point advantage with 11:44 to play after a Crider tip-in made the score 59-35, which is when the Cajuns began to chip away at the lead.
Louisiana used three-point plays from Walker and Stove, along with a layup from Wright to trim the lead down to just a dozen with 4:05 left in the game. After four free throws form the Panthers, Wronkoski then put in his five points of the game on consecutive possessions, hitting a three and then converting a layup off a steal to make it just a 72-63 Panther lead with 2:30 remaining.
But the Panthers once again made hay at the foul line, hitting six straight and 9-of-12 in the final two minutes to salt it away. Louisiana got two threes from Register and another from Shepherd in the final 27 seconds, but could not get any closer than the game's final margin.
#GeauxCajuns
Louisiana (20-13) trailed by 14 points at the half after turning the ball over 13 times in the opening 20 minutes, and by as much as 24 points early in the second half. But the Cajuns held the Panthers (23-9) to just five field goals in the final 12 minutes of play and ended the game by scoring 15 of the game's final 18 points.
"We dug ourselves a hole in the first half." Louisiana head coach Bob Marlin said after the game. "Our guys played hard until the end, I'm proud of their efforts. If only we'd had a little bit more time. I like the way we fought at the end. We finally made some three point shots, which was good, but there were too many turnovers early and too many layups for them.
Four Ragin' Cajuns finished in double figures, led by Walker's 17, his most since scoring a career-high 23 at Northwestern State on December 20. Kasey Shepherd hit four triples, finishing with 16 points, five assists and three steals.
Shawn Long and Bryce Washington both put in 10 points apiece, combining for 15 rebounds, while Jay Wright led the Cajuns with six assists. Hayward Register connected on three treys, and Johnathan Stove seven points and Steven Wronkoski added five with each aiding in the Cajuns late rally.
The Cajuns hit eight three-point baskets on the night, with six coming in the second half and three in the game's final minute. But UL also finished with 21 turnovers – the most since December 17 – with the Panthers picking off 17 steals.
"I don't think we were aggressive enough," UL junior Kasey Shepherd said. "We were stagnant on offense and played a little conservative. I think we should have attacked more and smarter. Too many turnovers in the first half that dug us in a hole that unfortunately we couldn't get out of."
R.J. Hunter had a Sun Belt Tournament record eight of those steals and finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-for-22 from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line. Markus Crider also added 15 points and Isaiah Dennis had 10 points off the bench for the Panthers, who move on to the SBC Tournament championship game for the second consecutive year and will face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 Georgia Southern and No. 3 ULM.
Louisiana started off well, attacking the Georgia State zone and getting six quick points from Washington to stake itself to a 10-6 lead in the first four minutes; however, the Panthers then got eight points from Hunter during a 13-0 run to go in front 19-10 before Washington's fourth bucket of the game.
The Panthers upped that to 25-14 before a quick 7-0 run by UL behind four points from Walker and a three from Register cut it to 25-21 with 6:41 to play. But the Cajuns turned it over on their next three possessions, all leading to GSU buckets.
Shepherd hit a three with 1:48 to play to make it 35-26, but GSU finished the half on a 9-1 run, including a breakaway dunk from Dennis just before the halftime buzzer to take a 44-27 lead into the break. In all, the Cajuns turned it over 13 times in the opening period, trailing 22-1 in points off of turnovers.
Georgia State scored eight of the first 11 points of the second half to peak its advantage at 54-30 with 15:52. It was still at a 24-point advantage with 11:44 to play after a Crider tip-in made the score 59-35, which is when the Cajuns began to chip away at the lead.
Louisiana used three-point plays from Walker and Stove, along with a layup from Wright to trim the lead down to just a dozen with 4:05 left in the game. After four free throws form the Panthers, Wronkoski then put in his five points of the game on consecutive possessions, hitting a three and then converting a layup off a steal to make it just a 72-63 Panther lead with 2:30 remaining.
But the Panthers once again made hay at the foul line, hitting six straight and 9-of-12 in the final two minutes to salt it away. Louisiana got two threes from Register and another from Shepherd in the final 27 seconds, but could not get any closer than the game's final margin.
#GeauxCajuns
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