The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team defeated the Bowling Green Falcons 86-60 on Sunday afternoon inside the Cajundome. The victory gives the Sun Belt Conference a 10-2 record in the second round of the Sun Belt-MAC Challenge, which concluded with this matchup.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game began with quick offense on both ends, as the Cajuns took an early 4-1 lead that was quickly erased by a 7-0 for Bowling Green to make it 8-4. After that, the teams traded buckets before a nice assist from Hosana Kitenge to Joe Charles made it 10-8 Bowling Green at the first media timeout.
The back-and-forth nature of this game continued throughout the half, with both offenses executing well. Right before the next media timeout, Kyran Ratliff showed some range as he made his first three-point shot of the season to cut the lead to 20-19.
Louisiana got a nice lift off the bench from Michael Thomas in the next stretch of play, as he scored a couple of buckets to help give the Cajuns a five-point lead at 29-24. That lead got extended to nine after another quick run from the Cajuns, and it would stay there at the final first half media timeout at 35-26. That lead would grow even larger as Louisiana played very well down the stretch in the first half, bringing a 41-30 lead to the halftime break.
The second half began with defensive intensity on both ends, making it more difficult for the offenses to get going. Eventually the Cajuns did, getting an impressive and-one from Themus Fulks and a triple from Kobe Julien. That made it 51-33 in favor of Louisiana.
The game was physical throughout, and the officials notably let them play more often than calling fouls. This resulted in a clunky stretch of play, with multiple loose balls on the floor ending up with tie ups rather than fouls being called. Regardless, Louisiana was able to maintain their lead throughout the half.
Inside of 10 minutes to play, the Cajuns put together a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 24 points at 64-40. That would be plenty, as they fended off any comeback efforts in the final eight minutes. A Kitenge and-one basket with 3:57 left made it 78-51 and put the cap on an impressive performance. They would hold on to win 86-60.
BIG NUMBER: 7
Today, the big number is more of a little number. Louisiana only turned it over seven times, controlling the ball and efficiently working on offense. They handled the Bowling Green defense effectively throughout the contest.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hosana Kitenge
Kitenge was a force on Sunday, securing a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also added three assists in a complete performance.
UP NEXT: Louisiana will head back on the road, as they face Old Dominion on Thursday, February 15th back in Sun Belt play at 6:00 PM.