University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Friday, February 26
Little Rock, Ark.
6:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
16-7,10-6Sun Belt
66
at
61
Little Rock
10-14,6-11Sun Belt
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 20 | 46 | 66 |
| Little Rock | 23 | 38 | 61 |
Louisiana Locks Up No. 2 Seed With 66-61 Win at Little Rock
2/26/2021 10:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Ragin' Cajuns, Trojans to wrap up regular-season on Saturday
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Theo Akwuba scored a team-high 13 points to lead three players in double figures and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Men's Basketball team locked up the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt West Division after posting a 66-61 win over Little Rock in the opener of a two-game series on Friday at Jack Stephens Center.
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Freshman Ty Harper added 12 points while Mylik Wilson had 11 as Louisiana (16-7, 10-6 Sun Belt) secured a first-round bye after Arkansas State dropped a last-second 73-71 contest at UT Arlington. Louisiana will be the No. 2 seed in the West Division in next week's Sun Belt Conference Championships which will be played March 5-8 in Pensacola, Fla.
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Dou Gueye grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists as the Ragin' Cajuns won their third straight game while holding Little Rock (10-14, 6-11 Sun Belt) to 33 percent from the floor.
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Louisiana trailed 9-2 with 16:17 remaining in the first half before a pair of buckets by Harper and a free by Akwuba helped close the gap. A pair of free throws by Harper along with a 3-pointer by Devin Butts would give Louisiana a 16-12 lead with 7:28 remaining in the first half before the Trojans would rally to claim a 23-20 lead at the break.
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Akwuba, who finished 6-for-8 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out with 3:31 remaining, gave Louisiana the lead for good (28-27) with a putback dunk at the 17:34 mark.
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Cedric Russell sank consecutive 3-pointers that extended Louisiana's lead to 41-32 and Kobe Julien's jumper with 11:10 remaining pushed the Ragin' Cajuns lead to 43-33.
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Julien, making his 2020-21 debut after being sidelined for the past 47 games due to injury, answered a Little Rock run with a 3-pointer that gave Louisiana a 47-40 lead with 9:02 left before Butts added a second 3-pointer for a 50-40 advantage at the 8:11 mark.
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Louisiana, which led by as many as 13 points in the second half, overcame a sluggish first half where it went 8-for-30 from the floor. The Ragin' Cajuns went 17-for-33 in the second half and finished 25-for-63 (39.7 percent) overall.
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Defensively, Louisiana held Little Rock to 7-for-28 from the floor in the opening half and 18-for-55 (32.7 percent) overall. The Ragin' Cajuns forced 17 turnovers while outscoring the Trojans, 46-38, in the second half.
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Russell scored nine points for Louisiana while Julien added six points with a pair of rebounds and a steal in 14 minutes off the bench.
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Little Rock's Ben Coupet, Jr., scored 18 points to lead all scorers with Nikola Maric adding 14 and Marko Lukic 11. Ruot Monyyong posted a double-double for the Trojans.
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The teams will close out the regular-season on Saturday in a 4 p.m., contest. The game will be available on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game in the Lafayette area on Classic Rock 105.1 FM.
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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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Freshman Ty Harper added 12 points while Mylik Wilson had 11 as Louisiana (16-7, 10-6 Sun Belt) secured a first-round bye after Arkansas State dropped a last-second 73-71 contest at UT Arlington. Louisiana will be the No. 2 seed in the West Division in next week's Sun Belt Conference Championships which will be played March 5-8 in Pensacola, Fla.
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Dou Gueye grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists as the Ragin' Cajuns won their third straight game while holding Little Rock (10-14, 6-11 Sun Belt) to 33 percent from the floor.
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Louisiana trailed 9-2 with 16:17 remaining in the first half before a pair of buckets by Harper and a free by Akwuba helped close the gap. A pair of free throws by Harper along with a 3-pointer by Devin Butts would give Louisiana a 16-12 lead with 7:28 remaining in the first half before the Trojans would rally to claim a 23-20 lead at the break.
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Akwuba, who finished 6-for-8 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling out with 3:31 remaining, gave Louisiana the lead for good (28-27) with a putback dunk at the 17:34 mark.
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Cedric Russell sank consecutive 3-pointers that extended Louisiana's lead to 41-32 and Kobe Julien's jumper with 11:10 remaining pushed the Ragin' Cajuns lead to 43-33.
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Julien, making his 2020-21 debut after being sidelined for the past 47 games due to injury, answered a Little Rock run with a 3-pointer that gave Louisiana a 47-40 lead with 9:02 left before Butts added a second 3-pointer for a 50-40 advantage at the 8:11 mark.
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Louisiana, which led by as many as 13 points in the second half, overcame a sluggish first half where it went 8-for-30 from the floor. The Ragin' Cajuns went 17-for-33 in the second half and finished 25-for-63 (39.7 percent) overall.
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Defensively, Louisiana held Little Rock to 7-for-28 from the floor in the opening half and 18-for-55 (32.7 percent) overall. The Ragin' Cajuns forced 17 turnovers while outscoring the Trojans, 46-38, in the second half.
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Russell scored nine points for Louisiana while Julien added six points with a pair of rebounds and a steal in 14 minutes off the bench.
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Little Rock's Ben Coupet, Jr., scored 18 points to lead all scorers with Nikola Maric adding 14 and Marko Lukic 11. Ruot Monyyong posted a double-double for the Trojans.
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The teams will close out the regular-season on Saturday in a 4 p.m., contest. The game will be available on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game in the Lafayette area on Classic Rock 105.1 FM.
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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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Team Stats
LA
LR
FG%
.397
.327
3FG%
.316
.333
FT%
.556
.618
RB
39
46
TO
14
17
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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