University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, January 10
Atlanta, Ga.
7 p.m. ET
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
10-6, 1-2SBC
76
at
89
Georgia State
12-4, 3-0SBC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 29 | 47 | 76 |
| Georgia State | 32 | 57 | 89 |
Three-Point Barrage Lifts GSU Past @RaginCajunsMBB, 89-76
1/10/2019 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Gant narrowly misses second straight 40-point game; Cajuns face GS on Saturday
ATLANTA – Jeff Thomas scored 14 of his 17 points early in the first half and Georgia State made 13 of 25 attempts from behind the 3-point line to hold off Louisiana, 89-76, in a Sun Belt Conference game on Thursday at the GSU Sports Arena.
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D'Marcus Simonds scored 21 points to lead GSU (12-4, 3-0 SBC) while Malik Benlevi added 15 points and Devin Mitchell 13. The Panthers shot 66 percent from the floor in the second half, including a 7-for-10 performance from behind the 3-point line, and shot 52 percent (31-for-60) for the game.
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Louisiana (10-6, 1-2 SBC), which was led by JaKeenan Gant's 36 points and 11 rebounds, took its only lead of the game – 27-25 – on a bucket by Gant with 2:27 remaining in the first half before baskets by Simonds and Benlevi put GSU back on top.
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Jerekius Davis, who scored 11 points and added a pair of blocks, knotted the game at 29-all with a jumper before Benlevi sank a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to give GSU a 32-29 lead at intermission.
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The basket by Benlevi, who finished 6-for-8 from the floor, began a 10-0 run the Panthers as GSU opened the second half to take a 39-29 lead after a pair of buckets by Simonds sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Benlevi.
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Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kane Williams and Devin Mitchell pushed GSU's lead to 50-36 with 15: 18 remaining. Mitchell, who scored all of his points in the second half, gave the Panthers a 53-41 lead with 14:05 remaining before Louisiana began to chip away at the lead.
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Gant, who finished 14-for-21 from the floor, started a 9-2 run for the Ragin' Cajuns with a pair of baskets before Jeremy Hayes drained a 3-pointer and Marcus Stroman sank a pair of free throws that closed the gap to 55-50 at the 11:13 mark.
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Louisiana got as close as 61-58 on a bucket by Gant with 9:11 left, but a pair of free throws by Simonds and three straight buckets were part of a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 70-58. The Panthers added another 9-0 run as Nelson Phillips scored back-to-back buckets with Simonds sinking a pair of free throws and hitting a 3-pointer for a 79-63 lead with 4:20 left.
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Justin Miller added a double-double for Louisiana scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Cedric Russell added eight points for the Ragin' Cajuns while Stroman scored five points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
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Louisiana will return to action on Saturday (Jan. 12) when it concludes its two-game trip to the Peach State with a Saturday afternoon contest against Georgia Southern (10-6, 2-1 SBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m., CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsMBB), Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsMBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Men's Basketball.
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D'Marcus Simonds scored 21 points to lead GSU (12-4, 3-0 SBC) while Malik Benlevi added 15 points and Devin Mitchell 13. The Panthers shot 66 percent from the floor in the second half, including a 7-for-10 performance from behind the 3-point line, and shot 52 percent (31-for-60) for the game.
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Louisiana (10-6, 1-2 SBC), which was led by JaKeenan Gant's 36 points and 11 rebounds, took its only lead of the game – 27-25 – on a bucket by Gant with 2:27 remaining in the first half before baskets by Simonds and Benlevi put GSU back on top.
Â
Jerekius Davis, who scored 11 points and added a pair of blocks, knotted the game at 29-all with a jumper before Benlevi sank a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to give GSU a 32-29 lead at intermission.
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The basket by Benlevi, who finished 6-for-8 from the floor, began a 10-0 run the Panthers as GSU opened the second half to take a 39-29 lead after a pair of buckets by Simonds sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Benlevi.
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Back-to-back 3-pointers by Kane Williams and Devin Mitchell pushed GSU's lead to 50-36 with 15: 18 remaining. Mitchell, who scored all of his points in the second half, gave the Panthers a 53-41 lead with 14:05 remaining before Louisiana began to chip away at the lead.
Â
Gant, who finished 14-for-21 from the floor, started a 9-2 run for the Ragin' Cajuns with a pair of baskets before Jeremy Hayes drained a 3-pointer and Marcus Stroman sank a pair of free throws that closed the gap to 55-50 at the 11:13 mark.
Â
Louisiana got as close as 61-58 on a bucket by Gant with 9:11 left, but a pair of free throws by Simonds and three straight buckets were part of a 9-0 run that pushed the lead to 70-58. The Panthers added another 9-0 run as Nelson Phillips scored back-to-back buckets with Simonds sinking a pair of free throws and hitting a 3-pointer for a 79-63 lead with 4:20 left.
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Justin Miller added a double-double for Louisiana scoring 13 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds. Cedric Russell added eight points for the Ragin' Cajuns while Stroman scored five points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
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Louisiana will return to action on Saturday (Jan. 12) when it concludes its two-game trip to the Peach State with a Saturday afternoon contest against Georgia Southern (10-6, 2-1 SBC). Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m., CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsMBB), Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsMBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Men's Basketball.
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Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
LA
GSU
FG%
.409
.525
3FG%
.258
.520
FT%
.824
.583
RB
41
32
TO
15
13
STL
7
11
Game Leaders
Pts
36
FGM
14
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
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