University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Thursday, January 29
Lafayette
7:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
6-16,4-6Sun Belt
82
vs
72
Georgia State
9-13,6-4Sun Belt
1
2
F
Georgia St.
28
44
72
Louisiana
46
36
82
Louisiana Rolls Early; Holds Off Georgia State, 82-72
1/29/2026 11:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Lavergne's career-night helps Ragin' Cajuns earn win over SBC nemesis
LAFAYETTE – Redshirt sophomore De'Vion Lavergne scored a career-high 23 points, and Louisiana withstood Georgia State's second-half parade to the free throw line as the Ragin' Cajuns built a big lead and held on to defeat the Panthers, 82-72, in a Sun Belt Conference game Thursday night at the Cajundome.
Lavergne scored on eight of his 13 field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers and dished out seven assists as Louisiana (6-16, 4-6 SBC) beat the Panthers for only the ninth time in 27 all-time meetings.
Dorian Finister added 18 points and six rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns, while redshirt freshman Karris Bilal added a career-high 13 points. Jaxon Olvera rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Georgia State (9-12, 6-4 SBC), which had won its last four games and seven of its last nine, was led by a career-high 25 points from junior Malachi Brown.
Jelani Hamilton, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, was held to 2-for-15 from the field and came up empty on all six of his 3-point attempts, scoring 14 points, thanks to a stellar 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line.
Jakai Newton added 12 points for the Panthers, while Joah Chappelle came off the bench with ten.
Louisiana blistered the nets in the first half, hitting 16 of its 28 shots, including 7 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc to build a 46-28 halftime lead. The Ragin' Cajuns then scored the first eight points of the second half on 3-pointers by Lavergne and Olvera and a Finister bucket to build their biggest lead, 54-28 at the 18:05 mark.
But the Panthers, who came into the game first in the Sun Belt and ninth in the country in free throw percentage, went on a 12-0 run, with 10 of those points coming from the charity stripe to begin their comeback.
A Karris Bilal jumper at the 12:43 mark gave the Cajuns a 60-45 lead, but four straight free throws by Hamilton and a Chappelle layup cut the lead to single digits a minute later.
Louisiana got a jumper by Lavergne to increase the lead, but the Panthers countered with six free throws, and Brown buried a 3-pointer to get Georgia State to 65-60 with 8:33 left.
The Cajuns defense stiffened, holding GSU to one basket in its next seven attempts and allowing just two free throws to build the lead back to double digits. Finister sank a pair of free throws for a 75-65 lead at the 2:37 mark, and the Panthers never got closer than eight points the rest of the game.
Louisiana shot 50 percent (28-for-56) for the contest, including 9 of 18 from behind the 3-point line, while holding Georgia State to 30.9 percent (17-for-55) and 5 of 22 from beyond the arc.
The Panthers' parade to the free throw line in the second half (25-for-27) enabled them to outscore the Cajuns, 44-36 in the second half, with 23 of those points coming in the first 11 minutes.
Louisiana won the rebounding battle, 37-30, with Olvera (7), Finister (6), Jones (5) and Kyran Ratliff (5) combining for 23 boards. Chappelle (8) and Hamilton (7) led the Panthers, combining for 15 rebounds.
The 10-point win for Louisiana was its largest in the series since an 87-54 victory in Atlanta during the 2015-16 season.
Louisiana will remain at home on Saturday at 3 p.m., when it hosts Georgia Southern.
The Eagles' game at ULM, scheduled for Thursday, was postponed to Friday due to power issues caused by last weekend's winter storm, which affected north Louisiana, and will be played at Grambling's Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
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).
Lavergne scored on eight of his 13 field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers and dished out seven assists as Louisiana (6-16, 4-6 SBC) beat the Panthers for only the ninth time in 27 all-time meetings.
Dorian Finister added 18 points and six rebounds for the Ragin' Cajuns, while redshirt freshman Karris Bilal added a career-high 13 points. Jaxon Olvera rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Georgia State (9-12, 6-4 SBC), which had won its last four games and seven of its last nine, was led by a career-high 25 points from junior Malachi Brown.
Jelani Hamilton, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, was held to 2-for-15 from the field and came up empty on all six of his 3-point attempts, scoring 14 points, thanks to a stellar 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line.
Jakai Newton added 12 points for the Panthers, while Joah Chappelle came off the bench with ten.
Louisiana blistered the nets in the first half, hitting 16 of its 28 shots, including 7 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc to build a 46-28 halftime lead. The Ragin' Cajuns then scored the first eight points of the second half on 3-pointers by Lavergne and Olvera and a Finister bucket to build their biggest lead, 54-28 at the 18:05 mark.
But the Panthers, who came into the game first in the Sun Belt and ninth in the country in free throw percentage, went on a 12-0 run, with 10 of those points coming from the charity stripe to begin their comeback.
A Karris Bilal jumper at the 12:43 mark gave the Cajuns a 60-45 lead, but four straight free throws by Hamilton and a Chappelle layup cut the lead to single digits a minute later.
Louisiana got a jumper by Lavergne to increase the lead, but the Panthers countered with six free throws, and Brown buried a 3-pointer to get Georgia State to 65-60 with 8:33 left.
The Cajuns defense stiffened, holding GSU to one basket in its next seven attempts and allowing just two free throws to build the lead back to double digits. Finister sank a pair of free throws for a 75-65 lead at the 2:37 mark, and the Panthers never got closer than eight points the rest of the game.
Louisiana shot 50 percent (28-for-56) for the contest, including 9 of 18 from behind the 3-point line, while holding Georgia State to 30.9 percent (17-for-55) and 5 of 22 from beyond the arc.
The Panthers' parade to the free throw line in the second half (25-for-27) enabled them to outscore the Cajuns, 44-36 in the second half, with 23 of those points coming in the first 11 minutes.
Louisiana won the rebounding battle, 37-30, with Olvera (7), Finister (6), Jones (5) and Kyran Ratliff (5) combining for 23 boards. Chappelle (8) and Hamilton (7) led the Panthers, combining for 15 rebounds.
The 10-point win for Louisiana was its largest in the series since an 87-54 victory in Atlanta during the 2015-16 season.
Louisiana will remain at home on Saturday at 3 p.m., when it hosts Georgia Southern.
The Eagles' game at ULM, scheduled for Thursday, was postponed to Friday due to power issues caused by last weekend's winter storm, which affected north Louisiana, and will be played at Grambling's Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
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
GSU
LA
FG%
.309
.500
3FG%
.227
.500
FT%
.943
.810
RB
30
37
TO
6
11
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballDorian Finister and De'Vion Lavergne Media Availability (Jan 29, 2026)
Friday, January 30
Quannas White Media Availability (Jan 27, 2026)
Tuesday, January 27
Quannas White Media Availability (Jan 20, 2026)
Tuesday, January 20
Quannas White Media Availability (Jan 12, 2026)
Monday, January 12
