In their second to last home game of the 2022-2023 season, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team had enormous postseason implications as they took on Arkansas State Wednesday evening. The Cajuns traded blows early in the game but took the lead in the first half and never gave it up as they won 85-74 to secure a double bye in the Sun Belt tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It was back and forth to begin the game as both teams were trading buckets with one another. Jordan Brown and Terence Lewis II combined for Louisiana’s first 10 points as the Cajuns were up by two in the first five minutes.
Themus Fulks helped the Ragin’ Cajuns put up 11 straight points with him scoring seven in that span. Following that run, the Red Wolves cut their deficit down to 23-18 with 9:30 left in the first half. Four players scored for Arkansas State, including Markise Davis and Julian Lual, who knocked down a three-pointer back-to-back.
Greg Williams came up big in the final eight minutes with 13 points, an assist, and a block while Brown got plenty of shots from the floor and the charity stripe.
Louisiana and Arkansas State headed into halftime with the Cajuns ahead 41-29. Williams’ 13 was enough to lead all scorers as he made all four of his shot attempts while Brown had 10 points, but just two rebounds. The leading scorer for Arkansas State was Omar El-Sheikh with 10 and he grabbed five boards to that point.
The Red Wolves brought it back to a five-point game early on in the second half as Davis scored four quick points and their defense forced some missed shots and created a couple of turnovers.
Louisiana pushed it to an 11-point advantage for them when Brown made the and-one layup that was assisted by Williams Jr with 11:15 to go in the game.
State tried to keep it close but the Cajuns started to pull away late in the game as Kobe Julien made an appearance and made some buckets, including an and-one off of a made shot from mid-range.
The Cajuns would keep a sizable lead the rest of the way as they secured a double bye in the Sun Belt tournament with an 85-74 win over Arkansas State.
BIG NUMBER: 13
The Red Wolves really struggled from the charity stripe on Wednesday as they only made 13 out of 25 attempts. Arkansas State over the season was shooting 70 percent from the free throw line.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jordan Brown
Jordan Brown and Greg Williams Jr were the spark plugs in Wednesday night’s win over Arkansas State. Brown had 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds as he made eight out of 11 free throw attempts and was 8/16 from the floor.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team (22-7) will play their final game of the regular season in the Cajun Dome on Friday when they host South Alabama. Tipoff for that game will be at 8:00.