The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns struggles continued on Thursday night with a disappointing 60-57 loss in the Cajundome to South Alabama despite a late rally.
How It Happened:
The Cajuns couldn’t have started any better, going on an 8-1 run that was capped by a free throw by Tirus Smith with 14:51 remaining in the first half. After Dou Gueye drained a 3-pointer with 12:43 left in the first half, the Ragin’ Cajuns went cold from the floor, giving South Alabama a chance to go on a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers by Tyreke Locure and Herb McGee.
The Cajuns and Jaguars started to exchange the lead back and forth for the rest of the first half. Jaylon Williams – a walk-on who joined the team during the Christmas break – hit his first attempt in a college game from behind the three-point line to give Louisiana a 25-24 lead with 3:06 left. However, a pair of shots from Andre Fox and Josh Ajayi gave South Alabama a 28-25 lead at the break.
The second half started off well for the Cajuns with Cedric Russell getting hot after going 0-for-7 in the first half and helped get them within two points early. However, that turned sour as Trajan Wesley took a hard fall on the court that took him out of the game. It’s another injury to a Cajuns group that continues to lose talent.
Louisiana started to claw back in the final moments thanks to a three-pointer from Cedric Russell, but the Jaguars defense kept the Cajuns away from a clutch three and were able to sneak away with a 60-57 win to hand the Cajuns their sixth straight loss.
Big Number: 41
The Cajuns were living and dying by the three-pointer, draining a season-high 12 three-pointers and tied a program record 41 attempts. In terms of statistics that might have been a big reason why the Cajuns couldn’t seal the deal.
Player of the Game: Josh Ajayi
Ajayi was all over the place on Thursday night posting up a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards in the Jaguars first victory in conference play.
Next Up: Saturday vs Troy; Tipoff at 7 pm