The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns went on the road and defeated the South Alabama Jaguars 88-79. The victory was the third straight Sun Belt Conference victory for Bob Marlin’s squad.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
South Alabama began the game on a 7-0 run as Elijah Ormiston opened the game with a layup and followed that up with a three-pointer. Louisiana got going with a three-pointer by Kobe Julien which sparked a 9-0 run.
The two teams traded buckets back and forth until the Ragin’ Cajuns seized control with a little more than six minutes remaining in the first half.
Trailing 25-21, London Fields made a second-chance layup which sparked a 9-0 run and gave Louisiana a 30-25 lead with 2:58 left before halftime. South Alabama ended the run with a layup by Ormiston.
Louisiana’s Kentrell Garnett responded with a three-pointer to push the Ragin’ Cajuns lead back up to six. The Jaguars managed to chip down the lead to three points right before the half as Tyrell Jones made a layup off of a fast-break turnover.
At the break, Louisiana led 37-34.
Early in the second half, South Alabama managed to cut the lead down to two points twice but Louisiana responded and pushed the lead back up to 10 points. The Jaguars then trimmed the lead down to five points but the Ragin’ Cajuns responded yet again.
Hosana Kitenge made a layup, followed by a three-pointer by Joe Charles and then a layup by Julien pushed the lead back up to 11 points. The Jaguars wouldn’t go away and trailed by only three points with 7:30 left in the second half.
Louisiana kept South Alabama at bay and pushed the lead up to 12 points after Charles hit a pair of free throws with 5:20 left on the clock. In the next three-plus minutes, the Ragin’ Cajuns saw its lead down to six points after a three-pointer by Jaguars’ Ormiston. A minute later, Isiah Gaiter’s two free throws made it a four-point game.
Louisiana answered yet again as Garnett drained a three-pointer with 1:28 left on the clock, and then Themus Fulks hit two free throws with 45 seconds left to make it 88-79 advantage for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who closed out the road victory.
BIG NUMBER: 39
Louisiana won the rebound battle by pulling down 39 rebounds, including 23 being defensive, compared to South Alabama’s 22 total rebounds. The Ragin’ Cajuns had three players with at least eight rebounds in the victory.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: KOBE JULIEN & JOE CHARLES
Julien paced the Ragin’ Cajuns with 24 points, including making three three-pointers, and pulling down eight rebounds. Charles meanwhile added 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds.
UP NEXT: Louisiana (11-8, 4-3 SBC) returns home to the Cajundome next week when it welcomes in Arkansas State on Thursday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.