Coming off of last Saturday’s win versus the ULM Warhawks, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns went on the road traveled up to Jonesboro to take on Arkansas State. The trip to Arkansas was unsuccessful as the Vermilion and White lost 83-63 to the Red Wolves, dropping their record to 5-13 and 3-3 in Sun Belt Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Ragin’ Cajuns went down early in the ball game as the Red Wolves jumped out to a 10-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. Taryn Todd hit a three-pointer on the game’s first possession, then Joseph Pinion made a layup, and found Terrence Ford for another three on the next possession. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil scored the lone basket for the Cajuns in that time.
It didn’t get any better for Louisiana throughout the first half.
El Moutaouakkil hit his second jump shot between a flurry of free throws by both teams, nine to be exact. Pinion and Rashaud Marshall four different times, including a couple of dunks to put Arkansas State up 25-10 with 13:12 left in the first half. Kyran Ratliff was the only Cajun to see his shot go through the hoop at that point other than El Moutaouakkil.
Louisiana had a chance to catch up towards the back half of the first half as Arkansas State didn’t make a field goal for almost seven minutes. The only points the Red Wolves scored from the 9:19 mark through the 2:31 mark were a handful of free throws from Kobe Julien and Izaiyah Nelson. During that span, Zeke Cook had a tip-in shot, and Chancellor White scored one of Louisiana’s made shots from behind the arc in the first half.
Arkansas State went into the locker room going on a 6-0 run as Julien found Nelson for a reverse two-hand dunk and concluded the first half with a mid-range jumper. Louisiana was down 44-24 at the break.
The Cajuns took advantage of the Red Wolves’ misses more to begin the second half more often than they did for the majority of the final 10 minutes of the first half. Through the first four and a half minutes of the second half, Louisiana outscored Arkansas State 12-6 as the Vermilion and White put points on the board on the first five possessions. White and El Moutaouakkil scored twice for the Cajusn and Todd did the same for the Red Wolves.
Arkansas State went on a 19-6 run midway into the second half as Todd hit his second three-pointer and Julien cut toward the basket for a left-handed layup. Ford then found Julien for the open three from the left wing and Ford scored on another layup. The run put the Red Wolves up by 26 with seven minutes to play in the second half.
Louisiana tried to stop the bleeding, scoring nine points in about 90 seconds. Kentrell Garnett pulled a deep three in transition and El Moutaouakkil scored twice inside the paint to cut it to within 18 points. The shot from Garnett from behind the arc was one of four made by the Cajuns in the game.
Arkansas State crushed the rest of the way, taking down Louisiana 83-63. The loss dropped the Cajuns’ record to 5-13 and 3-3 in conference play.
BIG NUMBER: 26
Nothing came easy for the Vermilion and White on the road on Thursday. Heading into the half, Louisiana was down by 20, then it got worse in the second half. The biggest deficit for the Cajuns was when they were down 26 late in the second half.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kobe Julien
This was a revenge game for the former Cajun and he helped beat his old team by scoring a team-high 15 points. Julien also recorded eight rebounds (three offensive) and a couple of assists as Arkansas State defeated Louisiana 83-63, dropping the Cajuns’ record to 5-13.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will go back on the road on Saturday, January 18th to take on the ULM Warhawks in Monroe. Tipoff in Fant-Ewing Coliseum is set for 2:00 p.m.