After losing 74-56 to the Troy Trojans on Wednesday, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team welcomed the Marshall Thundering Herd to the Cajundome. The Vermilion and White led the whole way through and earned their ninth win of the season, defeating Marshall 79-68 on Saturday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Louisiana jumped out to an early, going up 8-0 in the opening moments. Zeke Cook had the first basket off a turnover by Marshall then Christian Wright hit a sidestep jumper from the right elbow. Mostapha El Moutaouakkil scored the other four points with a layup and midrange shot.
The defense of the Cajuns was stifling, forcing three turnovers and a handful of missed shots by the Thundering Herd. To be exact, Marshall missed their first five shots before Obinna Anochili-Killen scored his team’s first points with a layup. That make came four minutes into the game.
The Thundering Herd cut into the Cajuns’ lead with a couple of threes but a Jeremiah Evans dunk and Kentrell Garnett jumper put the Vermilion and White up 18-8 midway into the first half.
After surrendering five straight to the Herd, Louisiana responded by going on a 12-4 run. Wright was responsible for back-to-back three-pointers and scored eight total points on the run. London Fields and Wyatt Fricks were the other two to score.
Marshall would then go on a quick 7-2 run as Ryan Nutter and Anochili-Killen each knocked down a three. The lone score for the Cajuns was a fast-break dunk by El Moutaouakkil after he stole the ball from Dezayne Mingo.
El Moutaouakkil also scored the final three points of the half for Vermilion and White with three free throws on two separate trips. The Thundering Herd ended the half with a 6-0 run with a layup by Anochili-Killen and a three by Mikal Dawson. Louisiana still maintained a five-point lead, heading into the locker room with a 35-30 advantage.
The beginning of the second half had a slower pace. There were seven total points scored through the first four minutes. El Moutaouakkil hit a contested layup while Anochili-Killen and Mingo also scored in the paint for Marshall.
Louisiana attacked the heart of Marshall’s defense to get out of their scoring funk. Multiple different players scored in the paint and had opportunities for three-point plays. Jeremiah Evans even caught an inbound pass for the tomahawk dunk while others such as Thomas and Brandon Hardy also scored. The bank was even open late on Saturday as Kentrell Garnett hit a deep left-wing three.
Marshall stayed alive and kept themselves in the game with their three-pointing. Multiple of their top three-pointer shooter scored as Anochili-Killen made two and Jalen Speer hit one on the fast break.
The Cajuns were sent to the free-throw line quite a few times throughout the back half of the second half. El Moutaouakkil and Wright were the recipients of those shots from the charity stripe to give Louisiana the 64-54 lead with 5:14 remaining.
Louisiana continued to live at the free throw line, attempting 15 shots from there in the final five minutes. The last basket that was scored for the Ragin’ Cajuns was an and-one layup by Wright at the 2:01 mark. The Herd fouled the rest of the way.
After the final buzzer went off, the Cajuns officially won 79-68 over the Thundering Herd. The win improved Louisiana’s record to 9-18 and 6-8 in Sun Belt Conference play.
BIG NUMBER: 0
The Ragin’ Cajuns trailed for a total of zero seconds at home versus the Thundering Herd, starting the game on an 8-0 run. Louisiana’s defense also forced 13 turnovers and gave the ball away seven times in the win. Their largest lead on the night for the Vermilion and White was 13.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Mostpaha El Moutaoakkil
The starting big man for the Cajuns was a constant score on Saturday, recording a game-high 23 points on 7-15 shooting and making 9-14 free throw attempts. El Moutaouakkil also recorded eight rebounds and two steals as the Cajuns defeated the Thundering Herd 79-68 to improve to 9-18 on the season and 6-8 in conference play.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s team will travel to Troy Alabama to take on the Trojans one final time. Tipoff in the Trojan Arena is set for 6:00 on Thursday, February 20th.