University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Wednesday, March 8
New Orleans, La.
5 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
21-11
78
vs
71
Little Rock
15-17
1
2
F
Little Rock
31
40
71
Louisiana
30
48
78
Louisiana Heads To SBC Quarters After Win Over Trojans
3/8/2017 8:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cajuns make 21 of 22 free throws down the stretch; will face Georgia State on Friday at 5 p.m.
NEW ORLEANS – Jay Wright scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns made 21 of 22 free throws in the final 5:44 to defeat Little Rock, 78-71, in the first round of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Wednesday at Lakefront Arena.
Justin Miller added 20 points, making his first seven shots of the game, while Bryce Washington added 12 points and Johnathan Stove 11 as No. 7-seeded Louisiana (21-11) won its seventh straight game and advanced to face No. 2-seeded Georgia State in the quarterfinals on Friday at 5 p.m. Little Rock, the defending SBC regular-season and tournament champion, ended its season at 15-17 overall.
Louisiana trailed 31-30 at halftime before Miller hit a pair of free throws with 19:43 remaining that gave the Ragin' Cajuns the lead for good. Miller, who finished 7-for-9 in the game, sank a 3-pointer that gave Louisiana a 54-45 lead with 10:22 remaining before the Cajuns went nearly seven minutes without a bucket until Frank Bartley hit a jumper with 2:29 remaining for a 63-57 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns missed six straight field goal attempts during the nearly seven-minute span, but never let Little Rock get closer than four the rest of the night. Wright, who recorded his 12-for-13 performance from the free throw line this season, sank a pair of free throws with 5:44 remaining that gave Louisiana a 57-51 lead.
That began a stretch of 15 straight made free throws for Louisiana, which went 27-for-31 (87.1 percent) from the free throw line in the second half and 32-for-38 (84.2 percent) for the game.
The Ragin' Cajuns built an 11-6 lead in the first half as Washington scored on a layup with 12:15 remaining. Little Rock would respond by taking a 14-13 lead on a dunk by Jalen Jackson with 8:47 left before taking its biggest lead of the game – 31-28 – on a jumper by Deondre Burns with 1:36 remaining.
Marcus Johnson, Jr., led Little Rock with 14 points with Kemy Osse adding 13. The Trojans finished 28-for-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor while going 3-for-12 (.250) from behind the 3-point line.
Justin Miller added 20 points, making his first seven shots of the game, while Bryce Washington added 12 points and Johnathan Stove 11 as No. 7-seeded Louisiana (21-11) won its seventh straight game and advanced to face No. 2-seeded Georgia State in the quarterfinals on Friday at 5 p.m. Little Rock, the defending SBC regular-season and tournament champion, ended its season at 15-17 overall.
Louisiana trailed 31-30 at halftime before Miller hit a pair of free throws with 19:43 remaining that gave the Ragin' Cajuns the lead for good. Miller, who finished 7-for-9 in the game, sank a 3-pointer that gave Louisiana a 54-45 lead with 10:22 remaining before the Cajuns went nearly seven minutes without a bucket until Frank Bartley hit a jumper with 2:29 remaining for a 63-57 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns missed six straight field goal attempts during the nearly seven-minute span, but never let Little Rock get closer than four the rest of the night. Wright, who recorded his 12-for-13 performance from the free throw line this season, sank a pair of free throws with 5:44 remaining that gave Louisiana a 57-51 lead.
That began a stretch of 15 straight made free throws for Louisiana, which went 27-for-31 (87.1 percent) from the free throw line in the second half and 32-for-38 (84.2 percent) for the game.
The Ragin' Cajuns built an 11-6 lead in the first half as Washington scored on a layup with 12:15 remaining. Little Rock would respond by taking a 14-13 lead on a dunk by Jalen Jackson with 8:47 left before taking its biggest lead of the game – 31-28 – on a jumper by Deondre Burns with 1:36 remaining.
Marcus Johnson, Jr., led Little Rock with 14 points with Kemy Osse adding 13. The Trojans finished 28-for-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor while going 3-for-12 (.250) from behind the 3-point line.
Team Stats
LR
LA
FG%
.475
.477
3FG%
.250
.250
FT%
.750
.842
RB
33
31
TO
15
15
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
12
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
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