It’s not often that the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (9-5, 1-0 Sun Belt) loses inside the friendly confines. In fact, heading into tonight’s matchup, the Cajuns have only lost eight times to Arkansas State (7-7, 1-0 Sun Belt) inside the Cajundome. The Red Wolves made it nine times on Thursday night thanks in large part to a solid second half helping them keep the Cajuns at bay with a 94-83 win to start off conference play.
How It Happened:
The Cajuns started off strong with a 9-2 run to take an early lead, but weren’t quite able to get into that rhythm that they usually get into. Arkansas State took full advantage of that late in the first half with a 10-2 run to take the lead with 4:40 left until halftime. The Cajuns were able to take the lead with 2:16 left, but the Red Wolves responded with back to back threes from Grantham Gillard and Marquis Eaton to make it 43-37 as both teams headed to the locker room.
Arkansas State started off the second half exactly how the first ended with Gillard and Eaton draining back to back threes to make it a 12-point lead early. The Cajuns answered the bell and got the deficit back down to single digits, but the Red Wolves continued to get it done from three-point range and were able to keep Louisiana at bay as they cruised to a double-digit win
Big Number: 20.8%
The Cajuns are a team that have had to rely on the three and when it’s not on, they have a hard time getting points on the board. It was a rough night for the Cajuns from beyond the arc, shooting a poor 20.8% on the evening and it was a big reason why they weren’t able to eat away at the lead that the Red Wolves were stacking up.
Player of the Game: Marcus Stroman
Without Malik Marquetti, Marcus Stroman stepped up in a big way, racking up 25 points, six boards, and six assists on the evening. The senior continues to be one of the top players on the roster and it felt like he was on another level as the Cajuns tried to rally back in the second half.
Next Up: Saturday vs Little Rock Trojans; Tipoff at 7 pm
-Clint Domingue