University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, February 7
Lafayette
3:00 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
9-16,6-6Sun Belt
85
vs
80
Central Michigan
7-17,3-8MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
42
38
80
Louisiana
38
47
85
Balanced Effort Carries Louisiana Past Chippewas in MAC-SBC Challenge, 85-80
2/7/2026 7:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Career-games from Bilal, Jones Jr., help Louisiana to fourth straight victory
LAFAYETTE – De'Vion Lavergne's four-point play with 8:09 remaining opened a decisive 14-4 run, and six players scored in double figures as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns earned an 85-80 victory over Central Michigan in the MAC-SBC Challenge Saturday afternoon at the Cajundome.
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Playing before an announced crowd of 3,148, Louisiana (9-16) erased a halftime deficit for the second straight game as it outscored Central Michigan (7-17), 47-38, in the final 20 minutes.
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Lavergne scored 19 points to lead Louisiana to its fourth consecutive victory with redshirt freshman Karris Bilal scoring a career-high 16 in his third career start. Todd Jones Jr., scored 10 of his career-high 15 points in the first half for the Ragin' Cajuns with Dariyus Woodson coming off the bench to add 14.
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Jaxon Olvera finished with 11 points and six rebounds for Louisiana while Dorian Finister eight of his 10 points in the second half to go along with a career-high eight assists.
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The opening half saw a back-and-forth contest with five ties and 14 lead changes with CMU building a 42-38 lead at the break after shooting 15 of 26 (57.7%) from the floor and 5 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.
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Jaxson Whitaker opened a 10-0 run for the Chippewas when his 3-pointer erased a 33-32 Louisiana lead. Michigan transfer Phat Phat Brooks added a bucket before Nick Mullen hit a jumper in the lane, Keenan Garner made one of two free throws and Brooks scored on a layup for a 42-33 lead with 1:28 left in the half.
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Bilal, who finished 5 of 11 from the floor, helped Louisiana close the gap in the final minute with a 3-pointer before Jones slammed home a Finister miss to close the deficit to four.
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Central Michigan upped its lead to 53-45 on Tamario Adley's pull-up jumper with 15:14 remaining before Louisiana began to chip away at the lead.
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Finister's three-point play with 11:26 left began an 8-2 run for Louisiana as Olvera sank a pair of free throws and Finister would follow with a 3-pointer to close the CMU lead to 63-62.
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After a Chippewa turnover, Lavergne was fouled after draining his second 3-pointer of the day, and his free throw would give Louisiana the lead for good at 66-63.
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Jones, who was 7-for-9 from the floor and hauled in a game-high seven rebounds, followed up a Michael Collins' miss with a three-point play before Lavergne's pull-up jumper gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 71-64 lead.
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Louisiana, which improved to 3-3 all-time in the MAC-SBC Challenge, finished 30-for-58 (51.7%) from the floor and was 9-for-18 (50.0%) from behind the 3-point arc – the third time during the team's current win streak posting the identical number from long range.
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The Ragin' Cajuns were 16 of 19 (84.2%) from the free throw line and held a 29-21 advantage on the boards with 13 coming on the offensive end.
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Adley scored a game-high 21 points to lead Central Michigan, which lost for the second time in six games in the series against the SBC. McIntire, who scored 40 points in a 95-89 loss at UMass on Tuesday, finished with 12 points with Whitaker coming off the bench to score all 12 points from behind the 3-point line.
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The Chippewas finished 28-for-49 (57.1%) from the floor and 9 of 19 (47.4%) from long range.
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Louisiana returns to Sun Belt Conference play beginning on Thursday (Feb. 12) when it hosts Coastal Carolina in a 7 p.m., contest. Single-game tickets are available at RaginCajuns.com.
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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.
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For the latest on Louisiana Men's Basketball, stay tuned to RaginCajuns.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB).
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Playing before an announced crowd of 3,148, Louisiana (9-16) erased a halftime deficit for the second straight game as it outscored Central Michigan (7-17), 47-38, in the final 20 minutes.
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Lavergne scored 19 points to lead Louisiana to its fourth consecutive victory with redshirt freshman Karris Bilal scoring a career-high 16 in his third career start. Todd Jones Jr., scored 10 of his career-high 15 points in the first half for the Ragin' Cajuns with Dariyus Woodson coming off the bench to add 14.
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Jaxon Olvera finished with 11 points and six rebounds for Louisiana while Dorian Finister eight of his 10 points in the second half to go along with a career-high eight assists.
Â
The opening half saw a back-and-forth contest with five ties and 14 lead changes with CMU building a 42-38 lead at the break after shooting 15 of 26 (57.7%) from the floor and 5 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.
Â
Jaxson Whitaker opened a 10-0 run for the Chippewas when his 3-pointer erased a 33-32 Louisiana lead. Michigan transfer Phat Phat Brooks added a bucket before Nick Mullen hit a jumper in the lane, Keenan Garner made one of two free throws and Brooks scored on a layup for a 42-33 lead with 1:28 left in the half.
Â
Bilal, who finished 5 of 11 from the floor, helped Louisiana close the gap in the final minute with a 3-pointer before Jones slammed home a Finister miss to close the deficit to four.
Â
Central Michigan upped its lead to 53-45 on Tamario Adley's pull-up jumper with 15:14 remaining before Louisiana began to chip away at the lead.
Â
Finister's three-point play with 11:26 left began an 8-2 run for Louisiana as Olvera sank a pair of free throws and Finister would follow with a 3-pointer to close the CMU lead to 63-62.
Â
After a Chippewa turnover, Lavergne was fouled after draining his second 3-pointer of the day, and his free throw would give Louisiana the lead for good at 66-63.
Â
Jones, who was 7-for-9 from the floor and hauled in a game-high seven rebounds, followed up a Michael Collins' miss with a three-point play before Lavergne's pull-up jumper gave the Ragin' Cajuns a 71-64 lead.
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Louisiana, which improved to 3-3 all-time in the MAC-SBC Challenge, finished 30-for-58 (51.7%) from the floor and was 9-for-18 (50.0%) from behind the 3-point arc – the third time during the team's current win streak posting the identical number from long range.
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The Ragin' Cajuns were 16 of 19 (84.2%) from the free throw line and held a 29-21 advantage on the boards with 13 coming on the offensive end.
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Adley scored a game-high 21 points to lead Central Michigan, which lost for the second time in six games in the series against the SBC. McIntire, who scored 40 points in a 95-89 loss at UMass on Tuesday, finished with 12 points with Whitaker coming off the bench to score all 12 points from behind the 3-point line.
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The Chippewas finished 28-for-49 (57.1%) from the floor and 9 of 19 (47.4%) from long range.
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Louisiana returns to Sun Belt Conference play beginning on Thursday (Feb. 12) when it hosts Coastal Carolina in a 7 p.m., contest. Single-game tickets are available at RaginCajuns.com.
Â
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.
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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
CMU
LA
FG%
.571
.517
3FG%
.474
.500
FT%
.714
.842
RB
21
29
TO
9
11
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
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