When it comes to the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (16-11, 6-8 Sun Belt), Saturday’s matchup against UL Monroe (7-19, 2-12 Sun Belt) could be seen as a must-win as it gives you momentum heading into a pair of key road games next week.
The win they needed came in the final seconds with a late rally from the Cajuns as they came away with a buzzer beater from way downtown
The Cajuns started out strong getting plenty of points from the inside and taking a 9-2 lead with 15:08 left in the first half. However, UL Monroe would fight back and get it within two points with 7:33 left in the first half.
It was back and forth between the two late in the first half, but the Warhawks ended the first half with a 7-0 run to take a 32-25 lead.
The Cajuns started the second half much like they did in the first and went five of six to start the second half and get the lead down to two points with 15:44 left. The Warhawks would get back out in front as they got hot making six straight field goals to make it 49-41.
Their lead would get out to double digits at around the halfway mark, but the Cajuns fought back to make it competitive. In the final three minutes of the ballgame, the Cajuns would get within two points in the final seconds. After the Warhawks missed both of their free throws, Johnathan Stove drained it from half-court to give them a much needed win.
The Cajuns will have a week off before they travel over to Conway, South Carolina to take on Coastal Carolina (13-13, 8-5 Sun Belt) with tipoff set for 3:30 pm.
By the Numbers:
28: Number of points for Jay Wright. He was all over the place when it came to shooting the ball and led the Cajuns down the stretch with a pair of threes late.
2: Number of points for Bryce Washington. The last these two teams faced off, the Cajuns were able to shut down the best scorers for ULM. This was a similar situation for the Cajuns, but the result was slightly different.
26: Number of points off of turnovers for the Cajuns. They made the most of the mistakes that UL Monroe made on Saturday.
-Clint Domingue