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UL – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns used a 15-3 first half run to create separation from ULM and race off to an 86-58 victory here Monday evening in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.
Travis Bureau broke a 5-all tie with a three-point make at the 18:16 mark of the first half. That’s when Louisiana’s run vaulted the squad into a 20-8 lead by the 14:06 mark.
The Warhawks pulled within five points later in the first half and seven points in the second half. Each time the Cajuns answered with runs which pushed the lead back into double digits.
Bureau led a quartet of UL players in double-figures scoring. He scored 18 points of 8-of-9 shooting. As a team, Louisiana shot 33-of-62 (53 percent) for its second straight game shooting above 50 percent.
ULM was led by Rudy Turner’s 18 points and he was backed up by Lawrence Gilbert’s 16 points.
The win was the Cajuns’ 24th straight over ULM in the city of Lafayette. Louisiana won its fourth straight game in the CAJUNDOME and fourth in the past five games overall.
The teams traded scores through the first four possessions. A Chris Grandigo triple at 18:46 on the Cajuns’ second possession answered a three by Kenneth Averette and evened the score at 5-all.
A turnover by Turner prevented ULM from keeping the score-swap going and Louisiana took advantage with a Bureau trey at 18:16 for an 8-5 lead – a lead the hosts wouldn’t relinquish.
Leading 10-6, the Cajuns benefited from a pair of ULM missed field goals to begin to stretch the lead out even further. A three-point miss by Malcolm Thomas led to Ryan McCoy stopping in front of the free throw line for a mid-range jumper to make it 12-6. Johnson blocked a shot on the ensuing possession and the Cajuns rushed back up the court where Bureau made a driving layup at 16:37 for a 14-6 advantage.
Louisiana was aided by starting the game 5-of-5 shooting from the floor.
McCoy scored five points all by himself just inside of 16 minutes and the Cajuns lead went into double figures for the first time. He made a free throw at 15:36, a layup at 14:54 and finally a triple in the right corner at 14:06 to increase the UL lead to 20-8.
The Warhawks scored five unanswered of their own by the 12:43 mark and crept within seven points (20-13).
The teams then swapped field goal makes and it remained a seven point game until Lamar Roberson hit a jumper at 10:57 and a Corey Bloom steal lead to a give-and-go with Roberson and Grandigo at 10:40 which moved the lead to 26-15.
Trailing 30-17, ULM went on a 12-4 run to cut the deficit down to 34-29. Key to the run was a Gilbert triple at 6:01 and free throws by Gilbert at 5:29 which cut the UL lead to 32-26. The run was capped of by Turner converting a three-point play after getting fouled on an inside shot at 5:01. That drew ULM within five points (34-29).
Bureau helped Louisiana reclaim its double-digit lead over the next minute. A long outlet pass after a missed triple by Gilbert went to Roberson who hit Bureau, who was trailing from behind, for a driving layup at 4:05 as he was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Jeremy Barr grabbed the offensive board and the ball was worked back around to Bureau in the left corner for a triple which upped the lead to 39-29.
Louisiana held onto the double-digit lead the rest of the half and went into the locker room in front 45-34.
The lead was 47-38 after a pair of Gilbert free throws at 18:53 of the second half. Louisiana got a layup from Tyren Johnson at 18:20 then Colby Batiste blocked a ULM shot and Johnson fed him the ball for a one-handed jam at 17:54 upping the lead to 51-38.
A Gilbert layup at 16:19 cut the lead to 51-40. Johnson answered with a three-pointer for UL at 15:50 and it was 54-40. The lead grew to the largest of the game two possessions later when Barr hit an off-balanced layup with 14:44 remaining pushing the Cajuns lead to 56-40.
Louisiana then went scoreless through the 9:50 mark and ULM marched off on a 9-0 run which pulled the visitors back within striking distance (56-49).
The Ragin’ Cajuns countered with a 7-0 run for breathing room as the game heading down the final stretch.
Barr broke ULM’s run with a jumper at 9:50 and made it 58-49. Barr then made two freebies on UL’s next possession to return the lead to double figures.
Roberson would later score seven points all by himself. It began with a dunk at 8:17 which was followed by a triple at 7:43 and the Cajuns lead was extended to 66-51. He was then fouled on the Cajuns’ next trip down the floor at hit a pair of free throws and it was 68-51.
A pair of free throws by Turner at 5:44 made it 72-57. The Cajuns rattled off four straight points and the Warhawks couldn’t get the deficit to fall below 19 points the rest of the way.
The Ragin’ Cajuns return to the CAJUNDOME court on Thursday, Dec. 18 for the third game on its current homestand. Louisiana meets North Texas at 7:15 p.m., in a Sun Belt Conference matchup, the second half of a doubleheader with the UL-NT women’s teams.
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