A new era of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball began on Monday evening when first-time head coach Quannas White and a slew of new players traveled to take on Ball State. Both teams struggled to score early on, and the Cardinals pulled away late as the Vermilion and White suffered the 75-64 loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was a defensive game from both sides to open the season. The Ragin’ Cajuns took the early four-point lead with a midrange jumper by Jeremiah Evans. Then, on the next possession, Dorian Finister stole the basketball from Ball State’s Davion Hill, leading to a Finister dunk.
The Cardinals went on a 12-2 run to go up by six through the first six and a half minutes of the ball game. Hill and Devon Barnes combined to knock down three three-pointers during the run, and Elmore James IV had an and-one layup. The Cajuns turned the ball over three times in that span.
Heading into the 8:00 TV timeout, Louisiana cut it to a one-point game. Dariyus Woodson was effective from behind the arc, making a couple of shots from downtown, and De’Vion Lavergne ended the Vermilion and White’s scoring drought with a midrange shot off a James IV miss. The Cardinals held the 17-16 advantage as Cam Denson made a triple and Armoni Zeigler got into the paint.
Kylan Ratliff, one of the few returning players from last year’s Cajuns team, had the only bucket over five minutes. The only other points scored were three free throws between Denson and Mason Jones. Louisiana missed 10 different shots, but the Cardinals couldn’t do much either, with multiple missed shots and a couple of turnovers.
In a crazy sequence of events, the Cajuns took the lead at the buzzer. Denson hit a three-pointer with 44 seconds to play to put the Cardinals up by five. Lavergne was fouled on a shot from downtown and drained the attempt to give Louisiana some energy. He missed out on the and-one opportunity and grabbed the loose ball to give his team another possession. Jamyron Keller got an open look late and drained another three as time expired.
The pair of triples gave Louisiana the 29-28 lead at halftime.
Jaxon Olvera found his rhythm at the end of the first half and early in the second half. The sophomore guard began the game going 0/5 and struggled to hold onto the ball. After a slow start, Olvera knocked down five straight shots. He made a couple before intermission, then hit two threes on back-to-back possessions and a midrange jumper six minutes into the second half. Finister and Lavergne assisted on Olvera’s shots from downtown. Those made baskets tied the game at 39 with 13:45 to play.
The game stayed close throughout the next handful of minutes. Zeigler’s free throws put Ball State up by three, but Keller responded with a three-pointer to even it up. It continued over the next few possessions. The Cardinals would go up, and the Ragin’ Cajuns would answer right back to tie the game.
Ball State started to separate itself with less than eight minutes to go in the second half. Kayden Fish was fed twice in a row, and Zeigler made a layup to make it a six-point deficit off three straight possessions.
Keller and company tried to keep the Cajuns in the game, but the Cardinals continued to pull away. Zeigler had a circus over-the-head layup that got the crowd hyped, and other Cardinal players also attacked the heart of the Cajuns’ defense, leading to more points in the paint and free throw attempts.
Ball State was up by as much as 11 with about 90 seconds left in the ball game. Lavergne snuck in an and-one layup on the second-to-last possession before the Cardinals secured the 75-64 win over the Cajuns, who would begin the 2025-26 season 0-1.
BIG NUMBER: 9
Louisiana as a team shot just nine free throws on the night and made five of them, as Jamyron Keller went 3/3, and everyone else who had an attempt missed at least one. Ball State, on the other hand, lived at the charity stripe, going 19/28 on the night. The Cardinals were also 8/15 from three-point range while the Cajuns were 9/28 from behind the arc.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Davion Hill
Hill was one of three Cardinals to score in double figures, and he was the one would scored a team-high 16 points on 7-12 shooting. The sophomore guard also had eight rebounds and four assists as Ball State handed Louisiana its first loss of the season.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will return to Lafayette for the home opener versus the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. Tipoff from the Cajundome is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Friday, November 7th.