The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns knocked off the top seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Saturday. No. 8 Louisiana seized control before halftime and never looked back in a 79-72 win over No. 1 Texas State.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first four minutes of the game was a spotlight for Texas State’s Caleb Asberry and Louisiana’s Theo Akwuba. Asberry drained a three-pointer for the first points of the game, and would later add a mid-range jumper. Akwuba meanwhile made two layups to go along with a rebound and a steal.
With 12:57 left in the first half, the Bobcats had built up a five-point lead but the Ragin’ Cajuns quickly responded with a jumper by Greg Williams Jr. and a three-pointer by Jordan Brown.
Texas State would take control again and push its lead up to six points but Louisiana answered yet again. The Ragin’ Cajuns took the lead with a 8-0 run which featured a pair of threes from Williams Jr. A few minutes later, Louisiana’s lead was up to five after back-to-back buckets by Brown.
The Ragin’ Cajuns extended its lead up to eight points but the Bobcats were able to score right before the break on a Nighael Ceaser jumper.
At the break, Louisiana led 31-25.
The Ragin’ Cajuns began the second half on a 6-0 run to push their lead up to 12 points. Louisiana extended its lead all the way to 16 points after Jalen Dalcourt hit a three-pointer with 15 minutes left in second half.
The Ragin’ Cajuns maintained that double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. The Bobcats didn’t cut it down to single digits until Mason Harrell hit a three-pointer with 4:57 left.
Louisiana never gave up control of the lead the rest of the way, as the Ragin’ Cajuns knocked out the tournament’s top seed by seven points.
BIG NUMBER: 45
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns dominated the glass in Saturday’s upset win. The Ragin’ Cajuns pulled down 45 rebounds to only 33 for the Bobcats. Louisiana was especially good at getting defensive rebounds as the Ragin’ Cajuns recorded 34 of those in the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: JORDAN BROWN & GREG WILLIAMS JR.
After a so-so performance in the tournament opener, Brown had a monster game on Saturday with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds. Williams scored 15 points and led the Ragin’ Cajuns with a team-high three three-pointers.
UP NEXT: Louisiana (15-14) will now advance to Sunday’s SBC Tournament semifinals. Tip is set for 6 p.m. The Ragin’ Cajuns will play the winner of Saturday’s Troy vs. Little Rock quarterfinal contest.