University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, January 25
Lafayette
7:15 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
18-3, 8-0SBC
76
vs
57
South Alabama
11-10, 4-4SBC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Alabama | 29 | 28 | 57 |
| Louisiana | 34 | 42 | 76 |
Marquetti, Washington Power Ragin' Cajuns Past South Alabama, 76-57
1/25/2018 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Louisiana opens SBC play at 8-0 for first time ever; host Troy in Saturday matinee
LAFAYETTE – Malik Marquetti scored a career-high 21 points while tying a career-high with five 3-pointers and Bryce Washington pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds to move into fourth place on the all-time Sun Belt list to lead the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to a 76-57 win over South Alabama on Thursday at the Cajundome.
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JaKeenan Gant scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half and grabbed all eight rebounds after intermission as Louisiana (18-3, 8-0 SBC) won its 14th straight league game dating back to last season while posting its first-ever 8-0 start. Frank Bartley added 11 points for the Ragin' Cajuns, who closed out the first half on a 7-2 run before outscoring South Alabama (11-10, 4-4 SBC), 42-28, in the second half.
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Marquetti, whose previous career-high was 19 points last Saturday at Texas State, scored 14 points in the first half for Louisiana with four 3-pointers in six attempts. Cedric Russell added a pair of first-half 3-pointers with Marcus Stroman draining a 3-pointer that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 16-4 lead with 14:15 remaining in the first half.
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A 3-pointer by Russell with 8:23 remaining in the first half gave Louisiana a 27-14 lead, but the Jaguars would score the next 13 points to tie the game as Trhae Mitchell converted on a free throw with 3:28 remaining.
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Marquetti responded with five straight points, beginning with his fourth 3-pointer of the game, to give the Ragin' Cajuns the lead for good with 3:11 remaining in the half before hitting a pair of free throws to push the lead to 32-27.
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A follow-up dunk by Gant with 12:32 remaining in the contest began a 15-2 run for the Ragin' Cajuns over the next 6:50 after South Alabama closed to within 51-43 on a dunk by Kevin Morris.
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Washington, who moved past former Old Dominion standout Kenny Gattison (1982-86) into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Sun Belt Conference list in rebounds (now at 976), followed with a jumper in the lane for the Ragin' Cajuns before Bartley, Gant and Marquetti each drained 3-pointers during the spurt that was capped by a pair of Johnathan Stove free throws for a 66-45 lead with 5:42 left.
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Louisiana, which improved to 10-0 at home to start the season for the third time in school history, converted on 12 of 24 3-pointers in the game while shooting 14-for-27 (51.9 percent) from the floor in the second half. Washington added eight points for the Ragin' Cajuns with Stroman scoring seven points and dishing out five assists.
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Mitchell led South Alabama with 16 points, going 7-for-10 from the floor. Josh Ajayi added 13 points for the Jaguars while Rodrick Sikes, who came into the game averaging an SBC-high 21.6 points in league games, was limited to six points on 1 of 10 shooting from the floor.
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Louisiana will conclude its homestand on Saturday when it entertains defending SBC Tournament champion Troy in a 2 p.m. contest.
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JaKeenan Gant scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half and grabbed all eight rebounds after intermission as Louisiana (18-3, 8-0 SBC) won its 14th straight league game dating back to last season while posting its first-ever 8-0 start. Frank Bartley added 11 points for the Ragin' Cajuns, who closed out the first half on a 7-2 run before outscoring South Alabama (11-10, 4-4 SBC), 42-28, in the second half.
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Marquetti, whose previous career-high was 19 points last Saturday at Texas State, scored 14 points in the first half for Louisiana with four 3-pointers in six attempts. Cedric Russell added a pair of first-half 3-pointers with Marcus Stroman draining a 3-pointer that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 16-4 lead with 14:15 remaining in the first half.
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A 3-pointer by Russell with 8:23 remaining in the first half gave Louisiana a 27-14 lead, but the Jaguars would score the next 13 points to tie the game as Trhae Mitchell converted on a free throw with 3:28 remaining.
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Marquetti responded with five straight points, beginning with his fourth 3-pointer of the game, to give the Ragin' Cajuns the lead for good with 3:11 remaining in the half before hitting a pair of free throws to push the lead to 32-27.
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A follow-up dunk by Gant with 12:32 remaining in the contest began a 15-2 run for the Ragin' Cajuns over the next 6:50 after South Alabama closed to within 51-43 on a dunk by Kevin Morris.
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Washington, who moved past former Old Dominion standout Kenny Gattison (1982-86) into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Sun Belt Conference list in rebounds (now at 976), followed with a jumper in the lane for the Ragin' Cajuns before Bartley, Gant and Marquetti each drained 3-pointers during the spurt that was capped by a pair of Johnathan Stove free throws for a 66-45 lead with 5:42 left.
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Louisiana, which improved to 10-0 at home to start the season for the third time in school history, converted on 12 of 24 3-pointers in the game while shooting 14-for-27 (51.9 percent) from the floor in the second half. Washington added eight points for the Ragin' Cajuns with Stroman scoring seven points and dishing out five assists.
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Mitchell led South Alabama with 16 points, going 7-for-10 from the floor. Josh Ajayi added 13 points for the Jaguars while Rodrick Sikes, who came into the game averaging an SBC-high 21.6 points in league games, was limited to six points on 1 of 10 shooting from the floor.
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Louisiana will conclude its homestand on Saturday when it entertains defending SBC Tournament champion Troy in a 2 p.m. contest.
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Team Stats
USA
LA
FG%
.375
.481
3FG%
.154
.500
FT%
.813
.667
RB
25
41
TO
17
20
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballSunday, February 22
Friday, February 20
Friday, February 20
Friday, February 13
