University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, March 21
Huntsville, Texas
2:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
22-13
71
at
70
Sam Houston State
26-9
1
2
F
Louisiana
38
33
71
Sam Houston State
29
41
70
Team Stats
UL
SHSU
FG%
.522
.400
3FG%
.455
.296
FT%
.720
.583
RB
33
34
TO
16
12
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Wright’s Buzzer Beater Advances Cajuns In CIT
3/21/2015 4:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Jay Wright hit a game-winning three-point shot with 0.9 seconds remaining and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns pulled out a 71-70 win over Sam Houston State on Saturday afternoon at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in the second round of the CIT.
Wright finished with a game-high 19 points, but it was his only three-point try of the night that was the biggest shot of the game. The Bearkats (26-9), who trailed by nine points at halftime, took their final lead of the game at 70-68 when Aurimas Majauskas made a short jumper with just 7.9 seconds to play. But following a Cajun timeout, Wright never surrendered the ball and netted the game-winner from the right wing with less than a second to play for the win.
The Cajuns (22-13), who picked up the win in Bob Marlin's return to Huntsville where he is still the Bearkat's all-time winningest coach, will move on to the third round of the CIT to play an opponent that is still to be determined. Louisiana has now won its last five true road games and nine of its last 10 games overall.
Along with Wright, who was 7-for-10 overall from the field, Shawn Long (14), Devonta Walker (13) and Kasey Shepherd (11) all reached double figures in scoring. Bryce Washington also filled up the stat line, hitting 4-for-5 from the field for eight points, nine boards, two assists and two blocks in 33 minutes.
Louisiana led 38-29 at the half, but the Bearkats came out of the locker room with a 16-2 run to start the half and led by as much as five early in the period. After a first half that saw just three lead changes, the second half saw eight, with the final one coming just before the final buzzer.
The Cajuns shot 50.0 percent in the second half and 54.2 percent for the game, but still found itself down 68-64 with 3:27 to go after a jump shot from Demarcus Gatlin, who finished with 14 points. But Devonta Walker cut the lead in half with a pair of foul shots and the Cajuns got two straight defensive stops before Shepherd tied things up with a pair of foul shots with just 36.5 seconds to play to set the stage for a wild finish.
Louisiana dominated the paint in the first half, using its size to overwhelm the Bearkats and take a 38-29 lead into the halftime break. The Cajuns outscored the Kats 18-6 in the lane, with half of SHSU's 10 field goals coming from beyond the arc.
Walker and Long each reached double figures before the break with 11 points apiece while a 16-4 Cajun run swelled the lead to as much as 13 points with less than four minutes to play.
Sam Houston State nailed threes on each of its first two possessions and still led 9-8 early on after another Bearkat three from Darakai Henderson, who finished with a team-high 16 points; however, Walker hit a three on UL's next time down the floor, followed by scores from Long and Kasey Shepherd to push the Cajun lead to 16-9. Sam Houston State got back to within two points midway through the period on a layup from Jabari Peters.
But the Cajuns put together another 8-2 spurt to push the lead back to eight, and got a layup from Long on their final possession of the half to end a 9-3 Bearkat run near the end of the half.
In all, UL hit 54.5 percent from the field for the half, along with 12-for-18 from the foul stripe; meanwhile, holding SHSU to just 35.7 percent on the other end.
#GeauxCajuns
Wright finished with a game-high 19 points, but it was his only three-point try of the night that was the biggest shot of the game. The Bearkats (26-9), who trailed by nine points at halftime, took their final lead of the game at 70-68 when Aurimas Majauskas made a short jumper with just 7.9 seconds to play. But following a Cajun timeout, Wright never surrendered the ball and netted the game-winner from the right wing with less than a second to play for the win.
The Cajuns (22-13), who picked up the win in Bob Marlin's return to Huntsville where he is still the Bearkat's all-time winningest coach, will move on to the third round of the CIT to play an opponent that is still to be determined. Louisiana has now won its last five true road games and nine of its last 10 games overall.
Along with Wright, who was 7-for-10 overall from the field, Shawn Long (14), Devonta Walker (13) and Kasey Shepherd (11) all reached double figures in scoring. Bryce Washington also filled up the stat line, hitting 4-for-5 from the field for eight points, nine boards, two assists and two blocks in 33 minutes.
Louisiana led 38-29 at the half, but the Bearkats came out of the locker room with a 16-2 run to start the half and led by as much as five early in the period. After a first half that saw just three lead changes, the second half saw eight, with the final one coming just before the final buzzer.
The Cajuns shot 50.0 percent in the second half and 54.2 percent for the game, but still found itself down 68-64 with 3:27 to go after a jump shot from Demarcus Gatlin, who finished with 14 points. But Devonta Walker cut the lead in half with a pair of foul shots and the Cajuns got two straight defensive stops before Shepherd tied things up with a pair of foul shots with just 36.5 seconds to play to set the stage for a wild finish.
Louisiana dominated the paint in the first half, using its size to overwhelm the Bearkats and take a 38-29 lead into the halftime break. The Cajuns outscored the Kats 18-6 in the lane, with half of SHSU's 10 field goals coming from beyond the arc.
Walker and Long each reached double figures before the break with 11 points apiece while a 16-4 Cajun run swelled the lead to as much as 13 points with less than four minutes to play.
Sam Houston State nailed threes on each of its first two possessions and still led 9-8 early on after another Bearkat three from Darakai Henderson, who finished with a team-high 16 points; however, Walker hit a three on UL's next time down the floor, followed by scores from Long and Kasey Shepherd to push the Cajun lead to 16-9. Sam Houston State got back to within two points midway through the period on a layup from Jabari Peters.
But the Cajuns put together another 8-2 spurt to push the lead back to eight, and got a layup from Long on their final possession of the half to end a 9-3 Bearkat run near the end of the half.
In all, UL hit 54.5 percent from the field for the half, along with 12-for-18 from the foul stripe; meanwhile, holding SHSU to just 35.7 percent on the other end.
#GeauxCajuns
Quannas White Media Availability (May 4, 2025)
Monday, May 05
Quannas White Introductory Press Conference
Sunday, March 16
Derrick Zimmerman Media Availability (Feb 24, 2025)
Monday, February 24
Derrick Zimmerman Media Availability (Feb 17, 2025)
Monday, February 17
