MBB: Louisiana Thrashes App State in Sun Belt Conference Opener
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Junior Theo Akwuba recorded his second double-double this season
Louisiana Men's Basketball earned a dominant 71-55 victory over App State in the Sun Belt Conference opener Thursday night at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Sophomore Jordan Brown led the team with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Brown was +22 in 30 minutes of playing time.
In his first game back from injury, junior Theo Akwuba picked up right where he left off, recording a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman guard Ty Harper recorded a season-high 12 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists in the contest.
Sophomore guard Durey Cadwell notched a career-high nine points and tallied five rebounds off the bench.
Louisiana used its up-tempo pace to race out to a 12-3 lead. Ty Harper scored the game's opening points with a layup and buried a 3-pointer to propel the Ragin' Cajuns in the early stretch.
Leading 15-7, Louisiana widened the scoring advantage to 18 behind a 10-0 run that was punctuated with a pair of threes from Joe Charles. Two possessions later, Harper connected from beyond the arc to force a Mountaineers timeout.
With just over two minutes remaining in the half, the Ragin' Cajuns took a 24 point lead, their largest of the night as Cadwell drilled one of his three triples and Akwuba converted at the free-throw line. As a team, Lousiana shot 42 percent (8-19) from the downtown in the game.
Louisiana did not relent until the first-half buzzer sounded and headed to the locker room with a commanding 43-19 lead.
App State found some momentum following the break and opened the final 20 minutes with an 11-0 run.
Needing a spark, Cadwell delivered with a pair of 3-pointers that resulted in a 9-3 Louisiana scoring run which pushed the lead back to 20 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
App State slowly cut into the lead as the game neared conclusion, but the Ragin' Cajuns slowed their offensive approach significantly and earned points from six different players down the stretch to close out the victory.
Louisiana will travel to Conway, S.C. to close out the conference-opening weekend against Coastal Carolina at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be available to be live-streamed on ESPN+
