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BATON ROUGE - In Wednesday's basketball matchup between LSU and UL, there was an obvious contrast in offensive philosophy.
The Tigers operated more out of half-court sets, making multiple passes before shooting the ball. That resulted in LSU recording assists on 20 of its 27 field goals in an 81-79 win.
Meanwhile, the Cajuns (4-8 overall, 1-1 Sun Belt) attacked the rim more often in a one-on-one fashion. Many times, UL coach Robert Lee called a play specifically for guards Randell Daigle, Travis Bureau, Chris Gradnigo or Lamar Roberson.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090102/SPORTS/901020314/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Joshua Parrott •
jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 2, 2009
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While Bureau, Gradnigo and Roberson used their size to shoot over defenders, Daigle mostly worked off high screens to create separation. Other times, Daigle took shots a few steps behind the NCAA's 20-foot, 9-inch 3-point line.
At the end of the day, Cajun players got assists on only six of the team's 26 made baskets. But Lee said those numbers can be deceiving.
"You've got to understand sometimes how the play is designed," said Lee, whose squad has now lost four in a row. "We'll set an on-ball screen for Randell to come off on the dribble, so there's no real pass involved in that.
"Sometimes that can be a misleading stat in terms of what you're trying to do offensively."
That did not mean UL played perfect on offense, Lee said. The Cajuns finished with 15 turnovers - six more than LSU. The Tigers converted UL's mistakes into 18 points and out-scored the Cajuns 10-0 in fastbreak points.
"I do think at times we over-dribbled the basketball," Lee said. "Over-dribbling the basketball at times leads to those turnovers that the other team converts into a fastbreak.
"We do have to do a better job of not over-dribbling the basketball, but I think we did execute a little bit better and got the ball in the hands of guys that are capable of making shots."
UL appeared to finally recapture the offensive spark that had recently disappeared. The Cajuns, who had averaged 60 points in its previous three losses, drilled 11 3-pointers and got 79 points. That was their highest point total since blowing out ULM, 86-58, to open Sun Belt play on Dec. 15.
Daigle led the offensive charge as UL played in its alternate black road uniforms for the first time all season. Playing in his second game after missing the season's first 10 with a broken right hand, the junior poured in 17 of his career-high 24 points after LSU took a 65-51 lead with 7:59 to go.
The ex-Northside High star responded with a jumper, two 3-pointers, a bank shot in the lane, one of two free throws and a double-pump 3 to pull the Cajuns closer at 78-76 with 11.6 seconds left.
LSU guard Marcus Thornton then hit two free throws, made a steal and hit another free throw to make it 81-76. Daigle raced down the floor and hit his fifth 3 of the day - which tied a career high - at the buzzer for the game's final points as UL's comeback ran out of time on the road.
Bureau and Gradnigo both scored 13 points as they played on the floor with Daigle for the first time this season. Bureau, who had missed the previous two games with a groin injury, came into the week third in the Sun Belt in scoring at 16.8 points per game. Gradnigo is still trying to recover from a preseason staph infection that kept him out for the season's first four games. Roberson finished with only six points, while La'Ryan Gary added 11 points.
UL out-rebounded the Tigers by three, but the Cajuns turned it over and failed to grab rebounds at critical times down the stretch.
"It hurts because a lot of the time we had the momentum," Daigle said of UL, which scored 28 of the game's final 44 points. "But they got offensive rebounds or it was scrappy calls or we just didn't get down and defend like we should have. It's not that the referees cheated us or anything.
"We just didn't stick to what we were doing before to get on that run."
Lee was impressed with how UL rallied on the road. The Cajuns return to Sun Belt play at 5 p.m. Saturday against Denver (6-7, 1-1) at the Cajundome.
"We were able to fight back in the end and put ourselves in a position to win," Lee said. "With our players returning from injury and having a chance to practice together, I think we can correct our mistakes."
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