University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, March 7
Little Rock, Ark.
6:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
18-12, 9-8SBC
77
at
72
Little Rock
10-20, 5-12SBC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 37 | 40 | 77 |
| Little Rock | 39 | 33 | 72 |
Russell, Hardy Lead @RaginCajunsMBB To Comeback Win At Little Rock, 77-72
3/7/2019 10:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Marlin earns Sun Belt win No. 100; Cajuns close out regular-season on Saturday at A-State
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Cedric Russell scored 21 of his career-high 34 points in the second half and Louisiana rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to defeat Little Rock, 77-72, in a Sun Belt Conference men's basketball game on Thursday at the Jack Stephens Center.
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P.J. Hardy scored all of his 15 points from behind the 3-point line as Louisiana (18-12, 9-8 SBC) moved into a fifth-place tie with Coastal Carolina heading into the regular-season finale on Saturday. Little Rock, which dropped its fifth straight game and was eliminated qualifying for next week's SBC Tournament, fell to 10-20 overall and 5-12 in league play.
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The win for Louisiana marked the 100th league victory for head coach Bob Marlin. Marlin, who improved to 100-63 in Sun Belt Conference games in his career, became the fifth coach in league history to reach the mark, joining a list that includes Kermit Davis, Jr. (Middle Tennessee), Ronnie Arrow (South Alabama), Gene Bartow (UAB) and Dickie Nutt (Arkansas State).
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Louisiana trailed 54-42 with 12:51 remaining after Nikola Maric's three-point play sent Ragin' Cajuns leading scorer JaKeenan Gant to the bench with his fifth foul. The Trojans' lead remained at 12 with 8:34 remaining after a dunk by Kris Bankston before Louisiana roared back.
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Hardy, who finished 5-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-9 from behind the 3-point line, drained three 3-pointers in an 18-5 run before a bucket by Marcus Stroman with 3:53 left gave Louisiana a 69-68 lead.
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After Little Rock regained the lead, 70-69, on two free throws by Bankston with 3:30 left, Russell gave drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Louisiana back up for good before Stroman drove the lane and scored for a 74-70 advantage with 2:25 left.
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Stroman, who dished out eight assists and became the ninth player in school history to record 400 assists in a career, added a free throw before recording both of his team-high two steals in the final 30 seconds to help seal the win.
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Louisiana scored the game's first 10 points and never trailed until a 3-pointer by Rayjon Tucker gave Little Rock a 36-34 lead. The Trojans led 39-37 at halftime and took advantage of having Gant on the bench in foul trouble, extending their lead to 51-40 on a dunk by Maric with 13:37 left.
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Gant, who scored a Cajundome-record 45 points in the previous meeting between the schools, was limited to five points on 2 of 6 shooting in 13 minutes of play. Jerekius Davis added eight points and six rebounds before fouling out 4:09 remaining while Stroman scored eight points.
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Maric led Little Rock with 24 points and 10 rebounds with Tucker adding 19 points and Bankston 13. The Ragin' Cajuns forced 20 turnovers which led to a 22 points while outscoring the Trojans, 40-33, in the second half.
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Louisiana will close out the regular-season on Saturday (March 9) at Arkansas State in a 4 p.m., tipoff.
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SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Tickets booklets for the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, scheduled for March 13-17 at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena, are currently on sale on-line at RaginCajuns.com, using Account Manager, or by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• For more information, call the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357.
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FOLLOW THE CAJUNS
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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P.J. Hardy scored all of his 15 points from behind the 3-point line as Louisiana (18-12, 9-8 SBC) moved into a fifth-place tie with Coastal Carolina heading into the regular-season finale on Saturday. Little Rock, which dropped its fifth straight game and was eliminated qualifying for next week's SBC Tournament, fell to 10-20 overall and 5-12 in league play.
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The win for Louisiana marked the 100th league victory for head coach Bob Marlin. Marlin, who improved to 100-63 in Sun Belt Conference games in his career, became the fifth coach in league history to reach the mark, joining a list that includes Kermit Davis, Jr. (Middle Tennessee), Ronnie Arrow (South Alabama), Gene Bartow (UAB) and Dickie Nutt (Arkansas State).
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Louisiana trailed 54-42 with 12:51 remaining after Nikola Maric's three-point play sent Ragin' Cajuns leading scorer JaKeenan Gant to the bench with his fifth foul. The Trojans' lead remained at 12 with 8:34 remaining after a dunk by Kris Bankston before Louisiana roared back.
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Hardy, who finished 5-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-9 from behind the 3-point line, drained three 3-pointers in an 18-5 run before a bucket by Marcus Stroman with 3:53 left gave Louisiana a 69-68 lead.
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After Little Rock regained the lead, 70-69, on two free throws by Bankston with 3:30 left, Russell gave drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Louisiana back up for good before Stroman drove the lane and scored for a 74-70 advantage with 2:25 left.
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Stroman, who dished out eight assists and became the ninth player in school history to record 400 assists in a career, added a free throw before recording both of his team-high two steals in the final 30 seconds to help seal the win.
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Louisiana scored the game's first 10 points and never trailed until a 3-pointer by Rayjon Tucker gave Little Rock a 36-34 lead. The Trojans led 39-37 at halftime and took advantage of having Gant on the bench in foul trouble, extending their lead to 51-40 on a dunk by Maric with 13:37 left.
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Gant, who scored a Cajundome-record 45 points in the previous meeting between the schools, was limited to five points on 2 of 6 shooting in 13 minutes of play. Jerekius Davis added eight points and six rebounds before fouling out 4:09 remaining while Stroman scored eight points.
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Maric led Little Rock with 24 points and 10 rebounds with Tucker adding 19 points and Bankston 13. The Ragin' Cajuns forced 20 turnovers which led to a 22 points while outscoring the Trojans, 40-33, in the second half.
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Louisiana will close out the regular-season on Saturday (March 9) at Arkansas State in a 4 p.m., tipoff.
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SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Tickets booklets for the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, scheduled for March 13-17 at New Orleans' Lakefront Arena, are currently on sale on-line at RaginCajuns.com, using Account Manager, or by visiting the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• For more information, call the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357.
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FOLLOW THE CAJUNS
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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Team Stats
LA
LR
FG%
.443
.491
3FG%
.400
.267
FT%
.647
.727
RB
30
41
TO
11
20
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
34
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
9
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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