The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team lost to the James Madison Dukes 87-72 on Wednesday evening inside the Pensacola Bay Center. The loss eliminates Louisiana from the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The teams traded buckets early, and Louisiana grabbed an early lead at 10-7 after Jaxon Olvera made a three. After that, JMU made a run. They would take the lead with a 12-0 stretch. Justin McBride made his presence felt, and the Dukes grabbed a 28-16 lead.
Down the stretch in the half, Olvera tried to help the Cajuns cut into the deficit. They were unable to get major traction, and they entered the half trailing by 10 at 37-27.
Despite a quick start to the second half, the Dukes were ready to answer. Leading scorer Cliff Davis started to pick things up, and he would finish with 21 points.
Despite the efforts of Olvera and Dorian Finister, the Cajuns could not get the lead down inside of four points. Seemingly every time they cut into the lead, James Madison responded. Finister finished with 27 and Olvera had 28.
Louisiana never fully erased the lead, and JMU hit free throws late to hold on and win 87-72.
BIG NUMBER: 4
Despite numerous runs in the second half, Louisiana never got closer than four points. JMU seemingly had an answer each time and never allowed it to get down to a one-possession game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Justin McBride
McBride did not play in the first matchup between these two teams. In this one, he played and made a big impact. He scored 20 points to go along with eight rebounds.
UP NEXT: Louisiana’s season comes to a close with a record of 11-21.