Things didn’t look great early on in the second half for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (18-12, 9-8 Sun Belt), but they were able to get over a slow start and come away with a 77-72 win over the Little Rock Trojans (10-20, 5-12 Sun Belt) thanks to a huge game from Cedric Russell.
How It Happened:
The Cajuns came out the gates strong, going on a 10-0 run in the opening four minutes of the contest and took control of the contest at that point. However, after the first media timeout, the Trojans responded and were able to quickly get within two points as the first half progressed. From that point on, it was a battle for positioning and Little Rock was able to head into the locker room at halftime with a 39-37 lead thanks to a pair of late free throws from Rayjon Tucker.
The Trojans took that momentum and ran with it early in the second half, going on a 12-2 run to take a 51-48 lead with 13:37 left in regulation. Things turned around though for the Cajuns late thanks in large part to Cedric Russell getting hot with 21 of his 35 points coming in the second half. In fact, Russell’s three-pointer with 3:13 left in the game gave Louisiana the lead and they never looked back at that point.
Big Number: 100
With the win on Thursday night, Bob Marlin racked up his 100th victory in Sun Belt Conference action and is the fifth coach in the history of the league to reach that mark.
Player of the Game: Cedric Russell
The Alexandria native was on another level in Little Rock and it was much needed with him putting up 34 points and four boards on the evening. It was even more impressive because he was so efficient from three-point range, going five-of-eight in what has been a category that the Cajuns have been hit or miss in as of late.
Next Up: Saturday vs Arkansas State; Tipoff at 4 pm
-Clint Domingue