The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team was defeated 83-64 by the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Wednesday night inside the Cajundome. The loss moves Louisiana to 8-9 in the Sun Belt with one game left to play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game began with Louisiana struggling from the floor and missing their first seven field goal attempts. Arkansas State created an 8-0 lead as a result, but the Cajuns finally ended the run. They worked for the next part of the half to cut into the lead, and London Fields contributed a quick five points to help that cause.
With the game staying within striking distance, the Cajuns struggled to try to get over the hump. At the end of the half, Arkansas State put together an 11-0 run led by Izaiyah Nelson. That extended the lead out to 44-28 at the break.
The second half began with a few technical fouls called as things began to get chippy. The Red Wolves extended their lead, as Nelson continued to be tough to handle on the inside.
Eventually, frustrations boiled over and Cajuns’ interim coach Derrick Zimmerman was ejected from the game. The Red Wolves’ lead would grow all the way to 28, but the Cajuns had some fight left in them. They slowly chipped away, getting the deficit down to 14 at 74-60 inside of four minutes left to play. Ultimately though, the Louisiana comeback ran out of steam.
BIG NUMBER: 42
The Red Wolves shot 42 free throws and connected on 35 of them. It was difficult for the Cajuns to keep up on the inside, and that made a big difference.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Izaiyah Nelson
Nelson set a new career high with 30 points, and he also pulled down 21 rebounds. He was a force on the inside all night.
UP NEXT: The Cajuns will wrap up their regular season on Friday night in Mobile against South Alabama at 7:30 PM.