University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, February 24
Mobile, Ala.
7:05 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
25-4 (15-1SBC)
88
at
71
South Alabama
14-15 (7-9SBC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 45 | 43 | 88 |
| South Alabama | 43 | 28 | 71 |
Cajuns Claim Outright Title; Bench Leads Louisiana To 88-71 Win Over Jags
2/24/2018 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Davis scores career-high 20 points; Cajuns put game away with 17-0 second half run
MOBILE, Ala. – Jerekius Davis came off the bench to score 18 of his career-high 20 points in the first half and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns tied a school-record with its 25th victory of the season in claiming an 88-71 win over South Alabama in a Sun Belt Conference men's basketball game on Saturday at the Mitchell Center.
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Johnathan Stove and P.J. Hardy combined for 24 points off the bench as Louisiana (25-4, 15-1 SBC) won its fifth straight game and claimed its first outright SBC title since the 1999-2000 season. The Ragin' Cajuns snapped a four-game losing streak to South Alabama (14-15, 7-9 SBC) in Mobile and improved Louisiana's record on the road to 10-3 – one win off the single-season record set in 1971-72.
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Davis scored 14 straight points for Louisiana in the first half, helping the Ragin' Cajuns erase an eight-point deficit. The sophomore gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 23-22 lead with 8:57 remaining in the first half before adding his third 3-pointer of the night that tied the game at 33-33 with 2:42 left.
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South Alabama took a 43-42 lead when Nick Davis buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Louisiana would take the lead for good when Malik Marquetti drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer for a 45-43 lead at the break.
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Louisiana upped its lead to 52-43 after JaKeenan Gant sank one of two free throws with 17:37 remaining, but the Jaguars would rally to tie the game at 56-56 on an inside bucket by Rozelle Nix.
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But Louisiana would put the game away with a 17-0 run beginning with a Frank Bartley 3-pointer that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 59-56 lead. Marcus Stroman and Stove each sank a pair of free throws for the Ragin' Cajuns, who finished 30-for-35 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line overall and 18-for-20 in the second half.
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Stove, who scored 16 points on 5 of 7 shooting, added a dunk and a layup for Louisiana before Bartley and Stroman combined to sink six free throws over the next 30 seconds.
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Bartley added 17 points for Louisiana, increasing his Ragin' Cajuns career total to 992 points. Bryce Washington notched his 12th double-double of the season for Louisiana and 37th of his career with 11 points and 13 rebounds with Gant adding nine points and three blocks and Hardy eight points.
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Davis led South Alabama with 20 points, going 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point line. Rodrick Sikes added 14 points for the Jaguars, who were outscored 43-28, in the second half.
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Louisiana will close out the regular-season with a pair of games at the Cajundome. The Ragin' Cajuns will host Arkansas State on Thursday (March 1) before hosting Little Rock (March 3) on Senior Day.
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Johnathan Stove and P.J. Hardy combined for 24 points off the bench as Louisiana (25-4, 15-1 SBC) won its fifth straight game and claimed its first outright SBC title since the 1999-2000 season. The Ragin' Cajuns snapped a four-game losing streak to South Alabama (14-15, 7-9 SBC) in Mobile and improved Louisiana's record on the road to 10-3 – one win off the single-season record set in 1971-72.
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Davis scored 14 straight points for Louisiana in the first half, helping the Ragin' Cajuns erase an eight-point deficit. The sophomore gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 23-22 lead with 8:57 remaining in the first half before adding his third 3-pointer of the night that tied the game at 33-33 with 2:42 left.
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South Alabama took a 43-42 lead when Nick Davis buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but Louisiana would take the lead for good when Malik Marquetti drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer for a 45-43 lead at the break.
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Louisiana upped its lead to 52-43 after JaKeenan Gant sank one of two free throws with 17:37 remaining, but the Jaguars would rally to tie the game at 56-56 on an inside bucket by Rozelle Nix.
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But Louisiana would put the game away with a 17-0 run beginning with a Frank Bartley 3-pointer that gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 59-56 lead. Marcus Stroman and Stove each sank a pair of free throws for the Ragin' Cajuns, who finished 30-for-35 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line overall and 18-for-20 in the second half.
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Stove, who scored 16 points on 5 of 7 shooting, added a dunk and a layup for Louisiana before Bartley and Stroman combined to sink six free throws over the next 30 seconds.
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Bartley added 17 points for Louisiana, increasing his Ragin' Cajuns career total to 992 points. Bryce Washington notched his 12th double-double of the season for Louisiana and 37th of his career with 11 points and 13 rebounds with Gant adding nine points and three blocks and Hardy eight points.
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Davis led South Alabama with 20 points, going 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point line. Rodrick Sikes added 14 points for the Jaguars, who were outscored 43-28, in the second half.
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Louisiana will close out the regular-season with a pair of games at the Cajundome. The Ragin' Cajuns will host Arkansas State on Thursday (March 1) before hosting Little Rock (March 3) on Senior Day.
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Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
LA
USA
FG%
.400
.431
3FG%
.240
.414
FT%
.857
.692
RB
45
31
TO
11
18
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Sunday, February 22
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Friday, February 20
Friday, February 13
