University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, March 26
Lafayette
7:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
22-14
82
vs
89
Evansville
22-12
1
2
F
Evansville
44
45
89
Louisiana
37
45
82
Team Stats
UE
UL
FG%
.566
.414
3FG%
.462
.316
FT%
.793
.824
RB
31
34
TO
14
16
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Cajuns Fall To Evansville In Return To Blackham, 89-82
3/26/2015 11:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns turned on the lights at Blackham Coliseum for the first time since 2006, but a 24-point, 11-rebound performance by Shawn Long was not enough to withstand 56-percent shooting from Evansville as the Purple Aces ended the Cajuns season with a 89-82 win on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the CIT.
Long closed out the season for the Cajuns (22-14) in style, hitting 7-for-11 from the floor and going for 18 of his 24 points in the second half; however, all-Missouri Valley Conference guard D.J. Balentine carried the load for the Purple Aces (22-12) with 35 points, the most by any individual against the Cajuns this season.
The Purple Aces were efficient from the field throughout the game, hitting 56.6 percent for the night and 60.0 percent in the opening half. Louisiana connected on six triples and was a stellar 28-for-34 at the foul line, including 10-for-11 from Long.
The first half saw the teams trade punches throughout, with 11 lead changes, the last for the Cajuns coming with 5:12 to go in the first half when Devonta Walker connected on a short jumper to put UL ahead 32-31.
But Balentine responded with a pair of foul shots to put Evansville back ahead and start a 8-0 run to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
Walker finished with 13 points for UL as one of three players in double figures, joined by Long and Kasey Shepherd, who had 15.
Evansville used a 9-0 run early in the first half to build their first significant lead of the game before the Cajuns began to chip away, drawing back to within a bucket at 18-16 on the first of Steven Wronkoski's two three-point buckets of the night.
The second of those triples came with exactly nine minutes to play in the half, giving the Cajuns a 27-26 lead. Walker then scored each of the next five Cajun points, including his jumper at 5:12 before two foul shots from Balentine gave the Aces the lead for good.
Jaylon Brown and Jaylon Moore responded with the next six points for Evansville before Bryce Washington quelled the run with a jumper of his own. A three-point play two possessions later from Shepherd pulled the Cajuns to within four before Moore closed out his 10-point first half with a layup to give the Aces a 44-37 lead at the break.
Evansville still maintained as much as an eight-point lead early in the second half before Long began to go to work. The Cajuns big man scored four quick points to cut the Evansville lead in half with 14:04 to play in the game and Wronkoski and Walker drew them to within one after two trips to the foul line.
But the Aces answer once again came from Balentine, who hit his fourth three of the game on the next trip down the floor to start a quick 8-0 spurt in just 1:03 of game time.
The Cajuns would not go away, though, hitting 18-for-21 at the foul line to stay within arm's reach, still finding themselves down just 72-69 with 5:13 to play after another layup from Shepherd.
But that was as close as things got as Evansville began to find success in the lane, scoring their next 12 points from inside the paint, including six straight points to up the advantage to 82-72 with under two minutes to play.
The loss puts the season to a close for the Ragin' Cajuns after posting their 21st 20-win season, and the first back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns.
#GeauxCajuns
Long closed out the season for the Cajuns (22-14) in style, hitting 7-for-11 from the floor and going for 18 of his 24 points in the second half; however, all-Missouri Valley Conference guard D.J. Balentine carried the load for the Purple Aces (22-12) with 35 points, the most by any individual against the Cajuns this season.
The Purple Aces were efficient from the field throughout the game, hitting 56.6 percent for the night and 60.0 percent in the opening half. Louisiana connected on six triples and was a stellar 28-for-34 at the foul line, including 10-for-11 from Long.
The first half saw the teams trade punches throughout, with 11 lead changes, the last for the Cajuns coming with 5:12 to go in the first half when Devonta Walker connected on a short jumper to put UL ahead 32-31.
But Balentine responded with a pair of foul shots to put Evansville back ahead and start a 8-0 run to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
Walker finished with 13 points for UL as one of three players in double figures, joined by Long and Kasey Shepherd, who had 15.
Evansville used a 9-0 run early in the first half to build their first significant lead of the game before the Cajuns began to chip away, drawing back to within a bucket at 18-16 on the first of Steven Wronkoski's two three-point buckets of the night.
The second of those triples came with exactly nine minutes to play in the half, giving the Cajuns a 27-26 lead. Walker then scored each of the next five Cajun points, including his jumper at 5:12 before two foul shots from Balentine gave the Aces the lead for good.
Jaylon Brown and Jaylon Moore responded with the next six points for Evansville before Bryce Washington quelled the run with a jumper of his own. A three-point play two possessions later from Shepherd pulled the Cajuns to within four before Moore closed out his 10-point first half with a layup to give the Aces a 44-37 lead at the break.
Evansville still maintained as much as an eight-point lead early in the second half before Long began to go to work. The Cajuns big man scored four quick points to cut the Evansville lead in half with 14:04 to play in the game and Wronkoski and Walker drew them to within one after two trips to the foul line.
But the Aces answer once again came from Balentine, who hit his fourth three of the game on the next trip down the floor to start a quick 8-0 spurt in just 1:03 of game time.
The Cajuns would not go away, though, hitting 18-for-21 at the foul line to stay within arm's reach, still finding themselves down just 72-69 with 5:13 to play after another layup from Shepherd.
But that was as close as things got as Evansville began to find success in the lane, scoring their next 12 points from inside the paint, including six straight points to up the advantage to 82-72 with under two minutes to play.
The loss puts the season to a close for the Ragin' Cajuns after posting their 21st 20-win season, and the first back-to-back 20-win seasons since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns.
#GeauxCajuns
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