University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Sunday, March 7
Pensacola, Fla. (Bay Center Arena)
5:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
17-9,10-7Sun Belt
73
vs
84
Georgia State
16-5,8-4Sun Belt
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 35 | 38 | 73 |
| Georgia St. | 52 | 32 | 84 |
Comeback Cajuns Fall Short Against Georgia State In SBC Semis, 84-73
3/7/2021 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Panthers close out with 13-2 run after Louisiana rallies from 19-point deficit
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Corey Allen scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the first half while Eliel Nsoseme broke a 71-all tie to start a decisive 13-2 run to lead Georgia State to an 84-73 win over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Sunday at the Pensacola Bay Center.
Â
Ryan Boyce came off the bench to score 13 points with Kane Williams adding 11 and Jalen Thomas 10 as Georgia State (16-5), the No. 1 seed from the SBC East Division, built a 19-point lead in the opening half before Louisiana (17-9) would storm back to tie the game on Dou Gueye's 3-pointer with 7:28 remaining.
Â
Georgia State advanced to Monday's SBC Championship Game where it will face the winner of Sunday night's semifinal contest between Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.
Â
Cedric Russell scored 20 points for Louisiana, which trailed 52-33 late in the first half before using a 36-17 run to swing the momentum. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the second half with a 17-5 run that began with seven straight points from Russell before Mylik Wilson's layup cut the deficit to 53-44 with 17:25 remaining.
Â
After Louisiana got as close as 64-59 on Devin Butts' 3-pointer with 10:57 remaining, Georgia State would eventually get the lead back to eight points after Williams scored on a layup for a 68-60 advantage.
Â
A bucket by Russell and Gueye's 3-pointer would cap a 9-1 run by Louisiana and forge a 69-all tie and put the Ragin' Cajuns into position to record its 11th win of the season when trailing at halftime and its fifth victory in an unorthodox 2020-21 NCAA Basketball season that was affected by the COVID pandemic.
Â
A 23-8 disparity in fouls led to a 16-point advantage from the free throw line for the Panthers, who made 22 of 30 attempts while Louisiana managed to go 6-for-10 from the stripe.
Â
Boyce sank a pair of free throws that put the Panthers back up, 71-69, with 7:18 left and after Gueye's bucket at the 6:34 mark knotted the score again, Georgia State would take the lead for good.
Â
Nsoseme, who posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, made the second of two free throws for a 72-71 lead before Evan Johnson went coast-to-coast off a Ragin' Cajuns miss and Boyce would add a bucket for a 76-71 lead with 4:15 left.
Â
Louisiana, which missed nine of its last 10 shots down the stretch, would go nearly six minutes without a point until Wilson's layup in the final minute stopped a 12-0 run that included seven free throws by the Panthers in 10 attempts.
Â
Georgia State finished 28-for-62 (45.2 percent) from the floor and was 6-for-10 from behind the 3-point line in the first half before going 0-for-6 in the second.
Â
Russell, who scored a season-low five points in Saturday's win over South Alabama, moved past Todd Hill (1990-93) into 22nd place on the Ragin' Cajuns all-time scoring list with 1,409 points. Wilson added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists for Louisiana while Gueye and Theo Akwuba scored eight points each.
Â
Louisiana finished 29-for-68 (42.6 percent) from the floor while holding Georgia State to 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) from the floor in the second half.
Â
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.
Â
Â
Ryan Boyce came off the bench to score 13 points with Kane Williams adding 11 and Jalen Thomas 10 as Georgia State (16-5), the No. 1 seed from the SBC East Division, built a 19-point lead in the opening half before Louisiana (17-9) would storm back to tie the game on Dou Gueye's 3-pointer with 7:28 remaining.
Â
Georgia State advanced to Monday's SBC Championship Game where it will face the winner of Sunday night's semifinal contest between Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina.
Â
Cedric Russell scored 20 points for Louisiana, which trailed 52-33 late in the first half before using a 36-17 run to swing the momentum. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the second half with a 17-5 run that began with seven straight points from Russell before Mylik Wilson's layup cut the deficit to 53-44 with 17:25 remaining.
Â
After Louisiana got as close as 64-59 on Devin Butts' 3-pointer with 10:57 remaining, Georgia State would eventually get the lead back to eight points after Williams scored on a layup for a 68-60 advantage.
Â
A bucket by Russell and Gueye's 3-pointer would cap a 9-1 run by Louisiana and forge a 69-all tie and put the Ragin' Cajuns into position to record its 11th win of the season when trailing at halftime and its fifth victory in an unorthodox 2020-21 NCAA Basketball season that was affected by the COVID pandemic.
Â
A 23-8 disparity in fouls led to a 16-point advantage from the free throw line for the Panthers, who made 22 of 30 attempts while Louisiana managed to go 6-for-10 from the stripe.
Â
Boyce sank a pair of free throws that put the Panthers back up, 71-69, with 7:18 left and after Gueye's bucket at the 6:34 mark knotted the score again, Georgia State would take the lead for good.
Â
Nsoseme, who posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, made the second of two free throws for a 72-71 lead before Evan Johnson went coast-to-coast off a Ragin' Cajuns miss and Boyce would add a bucket for a 76-71 lead with 4:15 left.
Â
Louisiana, which missed nine of its last 10 shots down the stretch, would go nearly six minutes without a point until Wilson's layup in the final minute stopped a 12-0 run that included seven free throws by the Panthers in 10 attempts.
Â
Georgia State finished 28-for-62 (45.2 percent) from the floor and was 6-for-10 from behind the 3-point line in the first half before going 0-for-6 in the second.
Â
Russell, who scored a season-low five points in Saturday's win over South Alabama, moved past Todd Hill (1990-93) into 22nd place on the Ragin' Cajuns all-time scoring list with 1,409 points. Wilson added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists for Louisiana while Gueye and Theo Akwuba scored eight points each.
Â
Louisiana finished 29-for-68 (42.6 percent) from the floor while holding Georgia State to 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) from the floor in the second half.
Â
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.
Â
Team Stats
LA
GSU
FG%
.426
.452
3FG%
.346
.375
FT%
.600
.733
RB
37
41
TO
13
9
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballSunday, February 22
Friday, February 20
Friday, February 20
Friday, February 13
