University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Sunday, December 31
Jonesboro, Ark.
3:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
12-3 (2-0)
88
at
78
Arkansas State
6-9 (1-1)
1
2
F
Louisiana
40
48
88
Arkansas State
40
38
78
Louisiana Handcuffs A-State To Improve To 2-0 In SBC Play, 88-78
12/31/2017 7:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Stroman, Washington post double-doubles as Cajuns improve to 12-3 overall
JONESBORO, Ark. – Frank Bartley tied a season-high with 23 points as he led five players in double figures and help lift the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to an 88-78 win over Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference men's basketball game on Sunday at First National Bank Arena.
Marcus Stroman recorded the first double-double of his career, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half, while dishing out 10 assists as Louisiana (12-3, 2-0 SBC) shot 63 percent (15-for-24) from the floor in the second half and used a late 14-4 run to pull away.
Bryce Washington posted his 32nd career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while JaKeenan Gant chipped in with 10 points and Johnathan Stove 10.
"It's never an easy game in Jonesboro," head coach Bob Marlin said. "This is a good environment, the crowd is always on us pretty hard, they're on the officials. It's just a good college basketball environment.
"We didn't defend well in the first half, but we made adjustments and we stopped them late. We locked in and were able to get stops, get run outs and made some really athletic plays. We pitched ahead and got a couple of nice dunks from (JaKeenan) Gant and (Frank) Bartley. Bartley hit a couple of big three's for us and Bryce (Washington) was huge for us with rebounds down the stretch."
Arkansas State (6-9, 1-1 SBC) trailed 74-68 before Rashad Lindsey and Ty Cockfield drained 3-pointers to tie the game with 5:50 left.
Louisiana claimed the lead for good, scoring the next nine points beginning with Stove burying a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3:57 remaining. Stroman converted both free throws in a 1-and-1 opportunity for the Ragin' Cajuns before Gant scored on a layup and Bartley added a dunk for an 83-74 lead with 2:40 left.
The Red Wolves, who missed 12 of their final 14 shots from the floor, got buckets from Deven Simms and Cockfield, cutting the deficit to 83-78 with 2:12 remaining, but Stroman and Washington combined to hit five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Arkansas State opened the game making 14 of its first 19 shots from the floor, including 10 straight to build a six-point lead in the first half. The Red Wolves took a 44-40 lead in the second half on buckets by Grantham Gillard and Tamas Bruce, but the Ragin' Cajuns responded with a bucket by Washington and a pair of free throws by Stove with 18:08 remaining.
The Red Wolves opened the first half going 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the floor before Louisiana held them to 15-for-41 (36.6 percent) in the second half and 30-for-63 (47.6 percent) for the game.
The Ragin' Cajuns held a 37-28 advantage on the glass with Washington increasing his career total to 901 and becoming the fifth player in school history with 900 rebounds. Stroman notched his third double-digit game in assists this season for Louisiana with Stove recording five assists. The Ragin' Cajuns finished 31-for-56 (55.4 percent) from the floor for the game and 20-for-25 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line.
Lindsey led Arkansas State with 18 points with Bruce and Simms scoring 14 each and Cockfield 13.
Louisiana will return to action on Thursday when it plays host to Appalachian State (7-8, 2-0 SBC) in the nightcap of a doubleheader at the Cajundome. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Marcus Stroman recorded the first double-double of his career, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half, while dishing out 10 assists as Louisiana (12-3, 2-0 SBC) shot 63 percent (15-for-24) from the floor in the second half and used a late 14-4 run to pull away.
Bryce Washington posted his 32nd career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while JaKeenan Gant chipped in with 10 points and Johnathan Stove 10.
"It's never an easy game in Jonesboro," head coach Bob Marlin said. "This is a good environment, the crowd is always on us pretty hard, they're on the officials. It's just a good college basketball environment.
"We didn't defend well in the first half, but we made adjustments and we stopped them late. We locked in and were able to get stops, get run outs and made some really athletic plays. We pitched ahead and got a couple of nice dunks from (JaKeenan) Gant and (Frank) Bartley. Bartley hit a couple of big three's for us and Bryce (Washington) was huge for us with rebounds down the stretch."
Arkansas State (6-9, 1-1 SBC) trailed 74-68 before Rashad Lindsey and Ty Cockfield drained 3-pointers to tie the game with 5:50 left.
Louisiana claimed the lead for good, scoring the next nine points beginning with Stove burying a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3:57 remaining. Stroman converted both free throws in a 1-and-1 opportunity for the Ragin' Cajuns before Gant scored on a layup and Bartley added a dunk for an 83-74 lead with 2:40 left.
The Red Wolves, who missed 12 of their final 14 shots from the floor, got buckets from Deven Simms and Cockfield, cutting the deficit to 83-78 with 2:12 remaining, but Stroman and Washington combined to hit five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Arkansas State opened the game making 14 of its first 19 shots from the floor, including 10 straight to build a six-point lead in the first half. The Red Wolves took a 44-40 lead in the second half on buckets by Grantham Gillard and Tamas Bruce, but the Ragin' Cajuns responded with a bucket by Washington and a pair of free throws by Stove with 18:08 remaining.
The Red Wolves opened the first half going 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the floor before Louisiana held them to 15-for-41 (36.6 percent) in the second half and 30-for-63 (47.6 percent) for the game.
The Ragin' Cajuns held a 37-28 advantage on the glass with Washington increasing his career total to 901 and becoming the fifth player in school history with 900 rebounds. Stroman notched his third double-digit game in assists this season for Louisiana with Stove recording five assists. The Ragin' Cajuns finished 31-for-56 (55.4 percent) from the floor for the game and 20-for-25 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line.
Lindsey led Arkansas State with 18 points with Bruce and Simms scoring 14 each and Cockfield 13.
Louisiana will return to action on Thursday when it plays host to Appalachian State (7-8, 2-0 SBC) in the nightcap of a doubleheader at the Cajundome. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
Team Stats
LA
ASU
FG%
.554
.476
3FG%
.333
.333
FT%
.800
.688
RB
37
28
TO
16
12
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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