The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team defeated the South Alabama Jaguars 59-56 on Saturday afternoon inside the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama. The win is Louisiana’s third in Sun Belt Conference play, and came on a game-winning three.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After the Cajuns hit their first three of the game to take a 3-0 lead, South Alabama would create a big run to take control early. They scored 11 straight points, leading 11-3 after six minutes of play.
Louisiana would work their way back into the game, using mostly three-point attempts to try to solve South Alabama’s zone defense. After retaking the lead, Karris Bilal’s steal and fast-break layup gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 22-18 lead.
Down the stretch of the half, Louisiana was able to maintain a small lead. They entered the half up 26-25.
The Cajuns stretched out their lead early in the second half, leading by as many as six. At the under 16 minute media timeout, the Cajuns advantage was four at 33-29.
After the Cajuns lead reached seven, South Alabama promptly responded with a 7-0 run to even the game at 36.
The game went back and forth as it headed down the stretch. Milan Mejia’s three-point shooting helped keep the Cajuns ahead inside of the four minute timeout. They held a 53-47 advantage at that point.
Chaze Harris, who entered this game scoring nearly 25 points per game in Sun Belt play, worked hard to keep the Jaguars in striking distance. An assist from Harris capped a 7-0 run to give South Alabama a 54-53 lead inside of one minute to play.
On a second-chance opportunity, Jaxon Olvera would then hit a deep three to allow the Cajuns to regain the lead at 56-54. After a Harris layup tied it, Olvera would play the hero. He drilled another deep three to give Louisiana a 59-56 win.
BIG NUMBER: 15
The Cajuns made 15 threes on the day. They knew it would be a key to breaking South Al’s zone, and they delivered on this day.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jaxon Olvera
The Cajuns have been close in SBC play, but have struggled to finish. On this day, Olvera took matters into his own hands with two massive threes at the end. He finished with a game-high 14 points in the win.
UP NEXT: Louisiana heads to Boone, North Carolina to face App State on Thursday, January 22nd at 5:30 PM.