It seemed like the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (14-7, 4-4 SBC) would come away with a much-needed win on Monday night, but a late push by Arkansas State (15-6, 6-2 SBC) led to a tough 88-69 loss in the Cajundome.
The Cajuns started out fairly strong and got out to a 12-5 lead with 16:43 left in the first half. However, the Red Wolves would respond quickly and got out to an 18-14 lead around the halfway mark. The Cajuns would get the lead back for a short time late before Arkansas State would get it right back and headed into the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
The Cajuns came roaring back to start the second half and got right back into the driver’s seat with a 42-35 lead with 12:14 left in regulation. The Red Wolves would erase that seven point deficit quickly with a 15-5 run and would hold on the rest of the way to come away with the win and the series sweep.
The Cajuns will hit the road on Saturday to take on Georgia State (13-7, 6-2 SBC) with tipoff set for 2:15 pm.
By the Numbers:
3: Number of points that the Cajuns had off the bench. The depth at the bench has been an issue, but what really exposed this was that they were without Justin Miller and Johnathan Stove at a crucial point in the game.
60: Number of points Arkansas State scored in the second half. The Cajuns have shown in conference play an inability to hold back a team in the second half. In Saturday’s win over Little Rock, the Cajuns allowed 57 points in the second half.
43: Cajuns field goal percentage in the loss. When the Cajuns get cold, it’s very hard for them to win games. They did improve in the second half at 46.9 percent from the field, but when compared to what Arkansas State did it would not be enough.
-Clint Domingue