University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, December 31
Jonesboro, Ark.
5 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
10-4 (0-1)
71
at
74
Arkansas State
10-4 (1-0)
1
2
F
Louisiana
31
40
71
Arkansas State
38
36
74
Louisiana Edged By Red Wolves In SBC Opener, 74-71
12/31/2016 9:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cajuns head to Little Rock for Monday night ESPN2 contest against Trojans
JONESBORO, Ark. – Junior college transfer Rashad Lindsey scored a career-high 27 points to lead three players in double figures and Arkansas State edged the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team, 74-71, in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at the Convocation Center.
Donte Thomas scored 12 points while Devin Carter added 10 as Arkansas State (10-4, 1-0 SBC) shot 56 percent from the floor, capitalized in a battle that saw 11 ties and eight lead changes while earning its second straight win over Louisiana (10-4, 0-1 SBC) in Jonesboro.
"Our defense wasn't good enough to win," head coach Bob Marlin said. "We're not guarding the ball; our guards were broken down most of the game. We've got to be better defensively, that's the first thing.
"We did hit some three-point shots against them; they lead the league in 3-point goal defense. Our offense was plenty good enough, but we missed free throws. We felt like we had a great play call at the end. We didn't get a break down the stretch."
Arkansas State built a 38-31 lead at halftime and extended its cushion to 43-33 after Lindsey made one of two free throws at the 17:59 mark. Louisiana roared back with a 13-3 run as Johnathan Stove converted on a three-point play and Frank Bartley added a layup with 14:47 remaining.
Louisiana trailed 54-50 after a bucket by Thomas with 11:37 remaining before Justin Miller and P.J. Hardy each would eventually drain 3-pointers for a 56-55 lead.
Redshirt freshman Kadavion Evans buried a 3-pointer for Louisiana with 6:44 remaining to tie the score at 61-61 before Hardy would respond with a 3-pointer on the next possession that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 64-63 lead.
The Red Wolves took a 69-66 lead when Thomas scored on a layup, but Louisiana would answer on its next possession as Jay Wright connected on a 3-pointer with 4:18 left. But C.J. Foster, who scored seven points on 3 of 3 shooting, would give Arkansas State the lead for good at 72-69 when he drained a 3-pointer with 3:55 remaining.
Miller led Louisiana with 16 points while Wright scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Bryce Washington scored 12 points – all in the first half – for the Ragin' Cajuns while pulling down 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season.
Louisiana will close out the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play on Monday when it faces defending league champion Little Rock in a nationally-televised contest at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game can be seen live on ESPN2.
Donte Thomas scored 12 points while Devin Carter added 10 as Arkansas State (10-4, 1-0 SBC) shot 56 percent from the floor, capitalized in a battle that saw 11 ties and eight lead changes while earning its second straight win over Louisiana (10-4, 0-1 SBC) in Jonesboro.
"Our defense wasn't good enough to win," head coach Bob Marlin said. "We're not guarding the ball; our guards were broken down most of the game. We've got to be better defensively, that's the first thing.
"We did hit some three-point shots against them; they lead the league in 3-point goal defense. Our offense was plenty good enough, but we missed free throws. We felt like we had a great play call at the end. We didn't get a break down the stretch."
Arkansas State built a 38-31 lead at halftime and extended its cushion to 43-33 after Lindsey made one of two free throws at the 17:59 mark. Louisiana roared back with a 13-3 run as Johnathan Stove converted on a three-point play and Frank Bartley added a layup with 14:47 remaining.
Louisiana trailed 54-50 after a bucket by Thomas with 11:37 remaining before Justin Miller and P.J. Hardy each would eventually drain 3-pointers for a 56-55 lead.
Redshirt freshman Kadavion Evans buried a 3-pointer for Louisiana with 6:44 remaining to tie the score at 61-61 before Hardy would respond with a 3-pointer on the next possession that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 64-63 lead.
The Red Wolves took a 69-66 lead when Thomas scored on a layup, but Louisiana would answer on its next possession as Jay Wright connected on a 3-pointer with 4:18 left. But C.J. Foster, who scored seven points on 3 of 3 shooting, would give Arkansas State the lead for good at 72-69 when he drained a 3-pointer with 3:55 remaining.
Miller led Louisiana with 16 points while Wright scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half. Bryce Washington scored 12 points – all in the first half – for the Ragin' Cajuns while pulling down 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season.
Louisiana will close out the opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference play on Monday when it faces defending league champion Little Rock in a nationally-televised contest at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game can be seen live on ESPN2.
Team Stats
LA
ASU
FG%
.400
.558
3FG%
.409
.455
FT%
.526
.550
RB
40
30
TO
10
11
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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