The University of Louisiana men’s basketball team had never dropped a contest to Texas State inside the confines of the Cajundome. The Ragin’ Cajuns were a perfect 6-0 at home against the Bobcats but they are perfect no more.
UL struggled shooting the ball on Saturday night as Texas State picked up a 68-59 win inside the Cajundome. With the defeat, UL drops to 7-13 overall, 2-7 in SBC play and has now lost four straight games.
How It Happened:
Texas State was able to take control early on with the play of all-time leading scorer Nijal Pearson. The 6-foot-5 senior guard from Beaumont pulled up for a mid-range jumper to score the first points of the game and then proceeded to score 7 of the Bobcats’ first 9 points.
UL stayed in the game with its shooting from beyond the arc as junior forward Duo Gueye drained a three-pointer and P.J. Hardy followed suit to tie the game at 6-6 early on.
The Bobcats quickly retook the lead but the Ragin’ Cajuns responded. After Calvin Temple made two free throws, Texas State’s lead was down to 11-10 with 14:31 left in the half.
In the next nearly eight minutes, the Bobcats would outscore the Cajuns 16-9 and with 6:01 left in the half held a 27-19 lead. Texas State would maintain its lead as UL struggled shooting and committed too many miscues. The Ragin’ Cajuns shot 8-of-24 (33 percent) while being called for 8 fouls and turning it over 8 times as well.
Texas State led 37-28 at the break.
UL came out strong to start the second half as the Ragin’ Cajuns, aided by a pair of put backs by Tirus Smith, raced out to a 8-0 run which cut the lead to 37-36.
Texas State responded with a 10-0 run and built up its lead to 47-36 with 15:10 left in the second half. The Bobcats never gave up the lead the rest of the way and remained in control as the lead hovered around double digits for the remainder of the second half.
Big Number: 35.7
That was the completion percentage for the Ragin’ Cajuns in Saturday night’s defeat to the Bobcats. UL entered the game shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 45.0 at home.
Player of the Game: Jalen Johnson
In a game in which the Cajuns struggled shooting the ball, Johnson was the most consistent. The former U-High star led the team with 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting while also pulling down 7 rebounds.
Up Next: UL returns to action on Saturday at home against in-state rival UL Monroe. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.