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It's definitely a bittersweet situation.
Five members of UL's basketball squad will be celebrating their final home-court appearance at the Cajundome tonight, and every one of them is hoping beyond hope that it's not their last home game.
When Ross Mouton, Adam James, Valentino Hart, Alphonso Williams and Rhett Hebert are honored prior to the 7:05 p.m. regular-season finale against North Texas, their wish is another chance to play in front of the home fans Wednesday and/or next Sunday, and the following Monday and Tuesday.
It all depends on tonight's outcome against the Mean Green (18-10, 9-8 Sun Belt), and the outcomes of every other Sun Belt Conference game today. If UL wins tonight and the other games fall just right, the Cajuns conceivably could host a first-round game Wednesday in the Sun Belt Tournament.
Even if that doesn't happen, UL (9-19, 7-10 Sun Belt) will go on the road for that game and still can get back home with a first-round win, since the balance of the Sun Belt Tournament will be played at the Cajundome. The men's quarterfinalists - the five first-round winners and the three teams earning first-round byes - play March 4, with the semifinals March 5 and the nationally televised finals March 6.
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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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UL's chances for a first-round home game were dealt a severe blow Thursday in Miami when the Cajuns lost to Florida International 71-68. A win there and a victory tonight would have put UL in solid shape for a host slot on Wednesday.
"We had all the opportunities in the world to win," said coach Robert Lee. "We didn't take advantage. We just let it slip away."
But Lee said even a Thursday win wouldn't change tonight's plans for honoring seniors.
"Right now, it's their last home game until we know something different," he said. "And they deserve to be honored. They've turned around the character of this team, and that's the beginning step to where we want to get in the program. They got it started for us."
Mouton, James, Hart and Williams are all seniors. Hebert, a junior from Erath, has another year of available eligibility but is graduating at the end of the spring and has indicated to Lee that he'll end his career this season.
Another listed senior, guard Maurice Barksdale, has been sidelined the entire year with wrist surgery, and plans to come back for his final year next season.
Of tonight's five honorees, four are locals with Mouton and James prepping at St. Thomas More and Williams walking on to the Cajun squad out of Cecilia along with Hebert.
"It makes it pretty special with those local guys," Lee said. "They've seen the program for a lot of years, and they've been here through the highs and lows and always represented themselves and our team well."
Mouton, James, Hebert and Williams all were part of back-to-back Sun Belt Tournament champions and NCAA Tournament squads in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Only Hart, a native of Freeport, Bahamas, and a junior college product, hasn't experienced a postseason net-cutting.
Hebert's graduation isn't unusual for the group. All five are on target to complete their degree requirements by the end of the summer semester - an important key for the program's future in the era of the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate which penalizes schools with low graduation rates.
"These guys have helped us get back on track academically," Lee said.
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