The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns woes on the hardwood continued on Sunday afternoon with UC Santa Barbara’s bigs controlling the contest on the way to an 85-77 loss. That is now the Cajuns fifth straight loss dating back to their loss at Arizona State back on December 7th.
How It Happened
After an early back-and-forth, the Cajuns got out in front with a 7-2 run that was highlighted by a fastbreak dunk from Mylik Wilson that woke up the crowd at the Cajundome. The good times didn’t last though with the Gauchos taking back control late in the first half by taking advantage of the Cajuns going cold from the field, taking a 26-20 lead with 3:57 left in the first half.
The Cajuns fought back in the final moments and got within one after a late jumper from Dou Gueye was ruled good. Originally, it was ruled no good as time expired, but the video review showed that a UC Santa Barbara player touched it as the ball was on the rim making it 32-31 in favor of the Gauchos as both teams headed to the locker room.
Louisiana fought hard early in the second half tying it at 45 after a great three-pointer from Gueye with 13:09 left in the ballgame, but from that point on it was all UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos went 7-of-10 from the field down the stretch and despite some solid shooting from three in the second half for the Cajuns, it just wasn’t enough to overcome a 10-point deficit with 5:43 left in regulation.
Big Number: 16
The Gauchos made the most of their opportunities on Sunday afternoon, racking up 16 second-chance points. That statistic alone confirmed how important it is to control offensive boards with UC Santa Barbara out-rebounding the Cajuns 13-3.
Player of the Game: Trajan Wesley
Wesley led the way for the Cajuns with a career-high 17 points and made the most of his appearances at the free-throw line going a perfect 7-for-7. It was his best night wearing the vermillion and white and it was refreshing to see with this team’s inability to find a top scorer since Kobe Julien was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Next Up: Thursday vs South Alabama; Tipoff at 7 pm