University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, February 8
DeKalb, IL
1 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
8-17,5-7Sun Belt
66
at
64
Northern Illinois
5-18,1-9MAC
1
2
F
Louisiana
28
38
66
NIU
39
25
64
Second Half Surge Leads Louisiana to Win Over Northern Illinois
2/8/2025 6:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Louisiana outscored the Huskies 38-25 in the final 20 minutes
DEKALB, Illinois - After trailing by as many as 13, the Louisiana men's basketball team overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to earn a 66-64 win over Northern Illinois as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. It was the second year in a row the Cajuns split with the MAC by winning the second round game.
It was a total team effort for the Ragin' Cajuns. All 10 players that saw action scored and recorded a rebound. Six different players had an assist with five players with more than one.
Kentrell Garnett was the only Cajun in double figures with 12 points. Brandon Hardy finished with nine while Mostapha El Moutaouakkil and Christian Wright had eight. London Fields added seven points while Kyran Ratliff, Michael Thomas, and Chancellor White all had six points each. Zeke Cook and Jeremiah Evans only had two points but Cook had a team-leading six rebounds while Evans had a pair of blocks to lead the defense.
The Huskies came out firing and took a 21-9 lead before the second media timeout. The Cajuns found their footing and thanks to a pair of threes by Thomas, went on an 11-1 run to make it a two-point game at 22-20.
The offense then went cold while the Huskies heated back up to make it 39-26 with a minute to play in the opening half. Evans hit a layup to send Louisiana into the locker room down 39-28.
Louisiana came out of the locker room fired up. White and Wright hit back-to-back threes to get within five. A bucket by Ratliff made it a one-score game and White tied the score at 39 with a three-point play. The Huskies responded and looked to right the ship and retook the lead at 46-41.
Refusing to go away, the Cajuns chipped away and took their first lead of the day with a bucket by El Moutaouakkil at 49-48. NIU responded with a three to retake the lead but 25 seconds later Hardy's three put the Cajuns back on top for good with 8:38 to go. Ratliff followed with a pair of baskets and a layup by Hardy stretched the lead to 58-51.
The home side got back within three with 90 seconds to play but Garnett's second three of the game made it 63-57. A 5-0 run by the Huskies cut the lead to one, but El Moutaouakkil's layup made it 65-62 with 24 seconds to go and clinched the victory.
Louisiana went 16-for-30, 53.3 percent, from the field in the second half while holding Northern Illinois to just 6-for-23, 26.1 percent. The Cajuns crushed the Huskies in points off turnovers, 22-8, points in the paint, 32-18, fast break points 20-9, and bench points 27-8.
The Cajuns return home for their final two-game homestand of the season. They'll welcome Troy to the Cajundome on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
For the latest on Louisiana Men's Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).
It was a total team effort for the Ragin' Cajuns. All 10 players that saw action scored and recorded a rebound. Six different players had an assist with five players with more than one.
Kentrell Garnett was the only Cajun in double figures with 12 points. Brandon Hardy finished with nine while Mostapha El Moutaouakkil and Christian Wright had eight. London Fields added seven points while Kyran Ratliff, Michael Thomas, and Chancellor White all had six points each. Zeke Cook and Jeremiah Evans only had two points but Cook had a team-leading six rebounds while Evans had a pair of blocks to lead the defense.
The Huskies came out firing and took a 21-9 lead before the second media timeout. The Cajuns found their footing and thanks to a pair of threes by Thomas, went on an 11-1 run to make it a two-point game at 22-20.
The offense then went cold while the Huskies heated back up to make it 39-26 with a minute to play in the opening half. Evans hit a layup to send Louisiana into the locker room down 39-28.
Louisiana came out of the locker room fired up. White and Wright hit back-to-back threes to get within five. A bucket by Ratliff made it a one-score game and White tied the score at 39 with a three-point play. The Huskies responded and looked to right the ship and retook the lead at 46-41.
Refusing to go away, the Cajuns chipped away and took their first lead of the day with a bucket by El Moutaouakkil at 49-48. NIU responded with a three to retake the lead but 25 seconds later Hardy's three put the Cajuns back on top for good with 8:38 to go. Ratliff followed with a pair of baskets and a layup by Hardy stretched the lead to 58-51.
The home side got back within three with 90 seconds to play but Garnett's second three of the game made it 63-57. A 5-0 run by the Huskies cut the lead to one, but El Moutaouakkil's layup made it 65-62 with 24 seconds to go and clinched the victory.
Louisiana went 16-for-30, 53.3 percent, from the field in the second half while holding Northern Illinois to just 6-for-23, 26.1 percent. The Cajuns crushed the Huskies in points off turnovers, 22-8, points in the paint, 32-18, fast break points 20-9, and bench points 27-8.
The Cajuns return home for their final two-game homestand of the season. They'll welcome Troy to the Cajundome on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
For the latest on Louisiana Men's Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).
Team Stats
LA
NIU
FG%
.433
.353
3FG%
.333
.320
FT%
.462
.800
RB
38
37
TO
11
14
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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