Eagles Hand Cajuns First SBC Loss Of Season

STATESBORO, Ga. – Louisiana got 18 points and eight rebounds from junior Shawn Long, but Georgia Southern kept the Ragin' Cajuns at arm's length all night in handing them their first conference loss of the year, 78-70, in front of a capacity crowd on Thursday at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Cajuns (10-6, 4-1 SBC) scored the first bucket of the game, but trailed the rest of the way as the Eagles (11-3, 4-1 SBC) hit seven threes and 17-for-24 from the foul line to move into a tie for first place in the Sun Belt Conference.

It was Louisiana's first-ever trip to Statesboro in the team's first meeting since 1992, and was a slot start as the Cajuns hit just one of 10 shots to open up the game and trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half. UL got as close as a bucket midway through the second period, and cut an eight-point lead with 3:07 to play down to just three on a triple from Hayward Register; however, the Eagles

Long led the Cajuns in scoring and rebounds, hitting a pair of threes and moving past Bill McHorris into the top 25 in career scoring at UL. Brian Williams added 10 points and six boards, and Register provided a spark of the bench with four makes from beyond the arc; however, no other player managed to reach double figures for Louisiana.

For Georgia Southern, Jelani Hewitt - the SBC's leading scorer – finished with a team-high 17 points, with 14 coming in the first half. But he got plenty of help with four other Eagles putting in at least 10 points and the team.

The Cajuns started off cold from the field, hitting just one of their first 10 shots from the field and each of their first nine attempts from beyond the arc before Hayward Register entered to nail a pair of threes late in the half.

UL scored the first bucket of the game but the Eagles answered with a 9-0 run and led by as much as 13 with three minutes to go in the half. The Cajuns got within a point at 13-12 before Hewitt got going, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the half in the final five minutes of the period.

Long and Register combined for 14 of the Cajuns 27 points in the half, with Register providing a shot of offensive life with his two threes, helping UL score 15points in the final five minutes after just a dozen points in the opening 15.

In the second half the Cajuns drew within three quickly behind a surge spurred from seven straight points from Long, but the Eagles pushed the lead back up to double digits on a three from Chris Diamond as part of a 12-4 run with under nine minutes to play. The lead stayed at double digits until less than five minutes to go when threes from Williams and Register were sandwiched around a layup from Devonta Walker for a nine-point spurt in just over a minute that had the lead to 67-64 with 1:57 left in the game. But Hewitt answered with a three-point play of his own and Georgia Southern hit five of six foul shots in the final minute to hold the Cajuns at bay.

Louisiana will get a quick turnaround with three games in five days at home, starting Saturday at the Cajundome against South Alabama.

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Team Stats

Shawn Long

Hayward Register

Brian Williams

Bryce Washington

Players Mentioned

Shawn Long

Hayward Register

Devonta Walker

Brian Williams