No one said that the Sun Belt Conference was going to be easy. After a solid start to the season for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (10-4, 0-1 SBC), they fell just short against Arkansas State (10-4, 1-0 SBC) on Saturday afternoon 74-71.
After an early back and forth, the Cajuns were able to get out to an early 12-5 lead over the Red Wolves with 14 minutes left in the first half. The lead did not last long though as Arkansas State was able to get the lead back and would hold on for the rest of the first half and take a 38-31 lead into the locker room.
The Red Wolves were able to extend their lead to double digits early on in the second half, but the Cajuns would go on a 13-3 run to take a 48-46 lead with 14:10 left in regulation. Both teams would begin to exchange the lead several times before the Cajuns got cold in the final minutes from the field.
The Cajuns would go down by three points with three seconds left to give them a chance to tie things up. However, Bryce Washington would miss the potential tying shot as time expired.
The Ragin Cajuns will now try and put the tough loss behind them when they take on Arkansas Little Rock on Monday night with tipoff set for 8 pm (10-4, 1-0 SBC).
By the Numbers:
22: Number of second chance points by the Cajuns in the losing effort. This was in large part because they had 19 offensive boards on the afternoon.
40%: Field goal percentage for the Ragin Cajuns. The Cajuns were ineffective from the field due to their poor shooting from beyond the arc, going 9-of-22.
40: Speaking of the number 40, the Red Wolves were able to take over the game, getting 40 points in the paint.
-Clint Domingue