The Book: 2002-2003 Basketball (Ragin'Cajuns)

I agree that this is upsetting, but let me try to spin it in a positive note. No, you don't ever like to lose, but we were on a 8 game winning streak. And remember, these are still young kids. Even though they won't admit it, the pressure of having to keep the streak alive had to be building. I would rather lose one now, than keep this streak going into the tournament, then lose. As of right now, we have tomorrow and the NCAA tournament. In the SBC tournament, if you lose, there is no tomorrow, and there is no NCAA. We'll only have the NIT.

I just visited the HilltopperHaven board. Oh yeah. Some of them are just yucking it up that we lost. That's ok. I guess that we'll just have to start another winning streak. Then, they can just yuck it up all they want as they sit in front of their TV's while they watch us in the Big Dance.



Geaux Cajuns!!!!

Thanks, Crowley, I needed that!! :(

You know how it feels when you finish that last final. You just don't give a damn about next semester. That is what happened. These young men began to think they had already won something by being the first team in America to lock up their division. So what happens, they do not listen to the coach. So much do they not listen he grounds three starters. They could not possibly have had a good practice week. I had a feeling they would believe they had to do nothing.

Don't let the score fool you, we lost and we loss because we had too many turnovers and missed too many free throws. Of course we let them build the final score by fouling and they are good free throw shooters.:( :confused:

Quote:

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Originally posted by cajun express
You know how it feels when you finish that last final. You just don't give a damn about next semester. That is what happened. These young men began to think they had already won something by being the first team in America to lock up their division.

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Big Time apropos analogy.

<i><center>Cajuns vow to be ready for UALR after Thursday’s loss.</i></center><blockquote><p align=justify>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — If a 72-64 score doesn’t grab your attention, how about 38-7?

The Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans made 15 shots in a row here Thursday night, ripping off runs of 17-0 and 11-0 to mount a staggering 38-7 first-half lead over visiting New Mexico State.

A still impressive 44-27 halftime score followed, and then the Trojans of coach Porter Moser had to hang on to win 72-64 and improve to 16-10 overall and 7-5 in Sun Belt play.

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns didn’t need much to get their attention after Thursday’s 84-72 upset loss at Arkansas State broke their nine-game Sun Belt win streak, but if they did then UALR’s antics would do the trick.

“We’ll be in for the fight of our lives Saturday night in Little Rock,” said coach Jessie Evans, whose squad meets the Trojans at 7:05 p.m. at the 18,000-seat ALLTEL Arena.
</blockquote>
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/E21D4759-863C-4A48-9E00-13D29B199A49.shtml">The rest of the story</a><!--

The Cajuns fell to 18-7 and 10-2 with Thursday’s setback, still champions of the West Division but in need of improved focus if they are going to survive this road trip with a split.

Home games against North Texas on Monday and Western Kentucky Wednesday are all that remain after this, so it’s time to get back on track before the SBC Tournament in March at WKU.

“I thought we came in anticipating a very difficult environment (at ASU), because their fans really get into it,” Evans said.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t play as well as we are capable of, but you have to credit coach (Dickey) Nutt and the way he prepared his team for the game.”

ASU led 38-31 at halftime, saw the Cajuns earn a 54-51 lead on a 3-point bomb from Brad Boyd and then re-asserted control.

Senior Laurie Bridges was one bright spot for the visitors, hitting 5-of-12 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 26 points. Center Michael Southall had 11 points and Boyd 10.

The Cajuns were never in sync, committing 17 turnovers and dishing out just eight assists. They also allowed the Indians freedom on the perimeter to hit 12-of-25 treys to offset ASU’s inside deficiencies.

It may have been a predictable letdown after the Cajuns clinched the West last Saturday at New Mexico State. They owned a 36-14 all-time lead over ASU.

But they know a repeat tonight would be damaging to late-season momentum.

“We know we’ve got to come focused for Little Rock,” Bridges said.

Senior forward Danny McCall, replaced an injured Columbus Willis, Thursday and led the Trojans with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Willis, who suffered a partial hamstring tear in Monday’s practice, warmed up but did not play.

In street clothes were injured forwards Nick Jones and Jake Yancy. Senior guard Mark Green equalled McCall with 16 points, while junior guard Nick Zachery had 13 and junior forward Jamal Holden added 10.

New Mexico State shot a cold 25-of-64 for the game, while UALR was over 50 percent at 25-of-49 and was even sharper (17-of-19) at the free throw line.

Despite that, the Aggies rallied to within 65-60 with 2:22 to play before UALR made 7-of-8 free throws to ice the victory.

The Trojans are a game behind Middle Tennessee for second place behind Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt East, so they’re bound to remain focused.

After those two surprising scores from Thursday night, the Cajuns should, too.
-->

With 7:25 left in the game the score is
Louisiana 68
Ark Little Rock 65

Southall fouls out.

LA 84
ALR 81

Emanual Washington gets steal with :30 seconds left.

KJ offensive foul

Johnson hurt.

Little Rock needs 3 to tie. NO GOOD

:11.5 to go "KJ much smarter this time around" first free throw good. Second no good.

LA 85
ALR 81

:3.7 seconds left

<h3>Louisiana WINS 85-81

I listened to the game and we were fortunate to come away with a win.

<i><center>Cajuns overcome hot-shooting Trojans. </i></center><blockquote><p align=justify>LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This time, they got it right. Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns got back on their game here Saturday night, withstanding a fierce effort by Arkansas-Little Rock to secure an 85-81 victory before 5,012 fans at Alltel Arena.

The Cajuns were flat in Thursday’s 84-72 loss at Arkansas State, and needed a better performance if they were to avoid a bad road trip.

They got that in a big way from Laurie Bridges, who scored a career-high 26 points for the second game in a row.

“That’s back-to-back 26 points,” Bridges said. “Plus, we won this one, so that’s even better.

“We knew after Thursday night that if we played as champions, which we are, and played with pride, we would be all right.”

The Cajuns, back-to-back champs of the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division, improved to 19-7 overall and 11-2 in league play. UALR, fighting to finish second in the East, fell to 16-11 and 7-6.

“This game shows the mark of a champion,” Cajun coach Jessie Evans said. “We’re not satisfied with winning the West. We’re all about getting better and getting that bar up high.

“We showed the composure of a champion tonight.”

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/FF4B15B1-1C68-41DF-969E-96D5C742988F.shtml">The rest of the story</a></center></blockquote>Advertiser-Bruce Brown
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Louisiana needed composure in the face of a UALR rally that had the Trojans ahead 81-79 with 2:14 to play on a free throw by Kimmo Muurinen.

The Cajuns’ Michael Southall fouled out with 1:37 left, sending Jibrahn Ike to the line for a pair of charities. But Ike, who led all scorers with 31 points, missed both shots and the visitors went to work.

Little Rock native Kenneth Lawrence got the ball to Brad Boyd on the left wing, and Boyd nailed a fadeaway 3-pointer at 1:25 to give the Cajuns the lead for good.

“We got a big 3 from Brad,” Evans said. “That’s his job. We ran a set play for him, and it’s a shot he likes. He did his job and hit it.”

Anthony Johnson (19 points) made a brace of free throws at the 54-second mark, and Lawrence fittingly ended the scoring with an insurance free throw with 11.5 seconds to go.

“This is my senior year, and my last time to play at Alltel,” said Lawrence, who once again got the best of former high school rival Mark Green of UALR.

“I wanted to give it my all with all my family and friends here. Mark and I talked a lot during the game. This is a moment I’ll never forget.”

The Cajuns quickly put the ASU game behind them with a 47-36 first half that featured 18 points from Bridges. They hit 19-of-32 shots in the first 20 minutes and limited the Trojans to 10-of-28.

“My shot was feeling good in the first half,” Bridges said. “They were getting the ball in my hands. I told KJ (Lawrence) before the game that my legs felt good. I’ve got to step it up more on defense, though.”

“Laurie has really done a great job carrying the team,” Evans said. “The guy is a gamer, and I don’t believe he’s reached his full potential yet. He leaves his heart and soul out there.”

Little Rock came out blazing in the second half, hitting 8-of-13 3-pointers after the break. The Trojans got within 51-50, only to see the Cajuns mount another double-digit lead at 66-56 on a pair of Johnson free throws.

A Lawrence layup had the Cajuns ahead 68-62, but consecutive treys by Nick Zachery tied it for the Trojans. Another Zachery trey put his team ahead 74-73, and an Ike bomb from atop the key put UALR ahead 80-79.

“We lost some defensive assignments on Thursday and allowed some open 3’s,” Evans said. “Tonight we wanted to make sure not to lose track of their shooters. We wanted to stay focused.

“They hit some 3’s, but we wanted to make sure they had to hit them over the picket fence.”

“The Arkansas State game knocked us back on our heels,” Lawrence said. “We wanted to come out tonight and prove we were No. 1 for a reason. But, we’ve got to play 40 minutes. We can’t relax on any team.”

“We came out sluggish in the second half, as usual,” Bridges said. “They out-worked us, forced some turnovers and capitalized on it.”

“Once you allow a team back in it, you’re in for a game for the next 20 minutes,” Evans said. “But we didn’t lose our focus or our composure.”

“This lets us know that if we come together, there’s not a team in the league that can stop us,” Bridges said.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — Once they found out they were beatable, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns learned how to win again.

The Cajuns had their 9-game Sun Belt Conference win streak snapped at Arkansas State last Thursday, then used that as motivation for an 85-81 triumph at Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday to stay on track for the league’s best record.

Coach Jessie Evans’ squad (19-7, 11-2) hosts North Texas (7-18, 2-11) at 7:05 p.m. today at the Cajundome, then finishes the regular season against Western Kentucky on Wednesday in a highly-anticipated home game on ESPN2.

Victories in those two contests would clinch the top mark for the Cajuns and set the tone for the Sun Belt Tournament at WKU.<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/5FBA346B-CC93-407A-917F-924BACB9A37B.shtml">The rest of the story</a></CENTER></BLOCKQUOTE>
Advertiser-Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com<!--


Thursday’s 84-72 loss at ASU was a wakeup call for the Cajuns, who stormed to a 47-36 halftime lead at UALR before the Trojans heated up with 8-of-13 3-point shooting in the second half and led 81-79 with 2:14 to play.

Kenneth Lawrence dished to Brad Boyd for a 3-pointer that put the Cajuns ahead to stay at 1:37, and free throws sealed the deal.

“We had the lead at halftime and had a little bit of momentum,” said Lawrence, a Little Rock product who relished his last appearance at Alltel Arena with 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and just 3 turnovers.

“But they came back at us and fought hard.”

Lawrence was one reason the Cajuns withstood the inspired Trojans attack.

“KJ has been playing more and more under control,” Evans said. “He’s learning at the right time when he needs to be a leader out there on the floor, and when to get on his teammates.

“I know how important this game was for him, and for us as a team, too.”

Laurie Bridges was another crucial factor, scoring a career-high 26 points for the second game in a row (on 9-of-15 shooting) and pulling down 9 rebounds. The Cajuns out-rebounded the Trojans 18-10 in the second half to help offset UALR’s hot shooting touch.

The natural tendency for the Cajuns and their fans is to turn their attention to the big showdown with Western Kentucky, but North Texas comes first.

UNT, which lost 89-58 to the Cajuns at home earlier this season, is coming off a 70-60 home loss to South Alabama last Saturday night.

Jermaine Green led the Mean Green with 13 points, while Michael DeGrate totalled 11. North Texas hit just 3-of-19 3-point attempts and was out-rebounded 38-35 by the Jaguars.

“The win over UALR was for big-time respect,” said Evans, who was pleased and relieved that his team got its edge back. “We’ve been working all year for this.

“I’d like to see our fans come out for the North Texas game. Don’t wait for Western Kentucky.”-->

BEAT NORTH TEXAS
Just for the hell of it we need to get to 20 wins in the regular season UL is 19-7 and I want win # 20 TONIGHT.

Not that I can go to a game, but if the Cajuns of UL lose to a team that is 2-11 in conference I don't know what I will do.

Well now we have win number 20, but not in the top 25?:(

<i><center>Ragin’ Cajuns tune up for WKU with blowout </i></center><blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — Tyson versus Etienne had more suspense.

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns administered an early knockout blow to outmanned North Texas Monday night before 5,436 fans at the Cajundome, a 94-60 runaway that set up Wednesday’s showdown with Western Kentucky.

The visiting Mean Green was without flu-stricken leader Chris Davis, who leads UNT in scoring, rebounding and assists, but he played earlier in an 89-58 home loss to the Cajuns and couldn’t have reversed Monday’s blowout.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/BE392C8F-FE22-4B19-B703-92AD7FE0876C.shtml">The rest of the story</a></blockquote></center>Bruce Brown
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It was a night to play everyone on the bench as the Cajuns improved to 20-7 overall and 12-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. WKU will enter Wednesday’s game 19-8 and 10-2.

“We knew we had to concentrate on this game first, so we could get set up for the (regular season) championship game,” said Brad Boyd, who led all scorers with 19 points.

“We really came out focused,” Cajun coach Jessie Evans said. “Our defense really got after them. We wanted to make a statement in the early going.”

North Texas jumped to a misleading 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer from Michael DeGrate, but the Cajuns roared back with an 11-0 run capped by an Anthony Johnson breakaway layup. They were up 21-7 on a layup from Michael Southall and 27-9 when Boyd nailed a trey from the left corner.

Mean Green players knew they were done.

“It’s a lot different for them without Davis,” Boyd said. “He’s 50-60 percent of their scoring, and without him they were hesitant to step up. They didn’t know their roles.”

The Mean Green had lost point guard Leonard Hopkins to injury earlier in the year, and adding Davis to the missing list was too much.

The Cajuns, on the other hand, were comfortable in their assignments. The starters hit a combined 19-of-29 shots, 7-of-12 3-pointers and 8-of-10 free throws. Johnson had 12 points, while Antoine Landry and Robert Jupiter came off the bench for 14 and 11, respectively.

UL out-rebounded the visitors 45-28 and chalked up 22 assists.

“We wanted to play hard to set it up for Wednesday night,” Johnson said. “We like to run and gun. If we run, there’s nobody who can run with us because of our bench.”

“Louisiana has a very fine basketball team,” said UNT coach Johnny Jones, whose team fell to 7-19, 2-12.

“We played a very difficult non-conference schedule. This is the second time we’ve played UL, and they have one of the best teams we’ve played all year, including those guys in the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten.

“We’re very young, and you take Davis and Hopkins away against probably the toughest team in the league and that makes it hard. It probably would have been a little closer (with Davis).”

Importantly, no Cajun played more than point guard Kenneth Lawrence’s 21 minutes. Coming off a road trip and with WKU next, they were able to keep legs fresh.

“We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare,” Evans said. “Fortunately, we had played them before and we watched tape of the 10-2 start we had on them in Denton.”

“We came out focused and were able to get a big lead,” Boyd said.

“They tried to run with us. They just missed their shots, and we made ours.”

Plenty of them.
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<i><center>WKU Hilltoppers finally invade Cajundome arena </i></center><blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — If it seems like a long time since the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have visited the Cajundome, it’s not a mirage.

WKU’s last appearance here was Feb. 17, 2000, when Louisiana posted a 72-64 victory en route to the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles.

Since then, the Hilltoppers have posted four straight victories over the Ragin’ Cajuns, all away from the Cajun Dome. Two came in Bowling Green and two were at Sun Belt Tournament sites in Mobile and New Orleans.

That changes at 8:30 p.m. today when the Cajuns host WKU on ESPN2 in a game that will determine the regular season champion in the league.

“We won’t sneak up on one another,” Cajun coach Jessie Evans said. “It should be a heck of a game.”

It should be a packed house, too, although advanced ticket sales for the game indicated most non-students in attendance will be walk-up fans buying tickets today.

The West Division champion Cajuns (20-7, 12-2) tuned up for the showdown with an easy 94-60 Monday night victory over North Texas.

WKU (19-8, 10-2), which has clinched a tie for the East Division, handled Ball State 84-79 last Saturday.

Most figure the two rivals will meet in the SBC Tournament finals March 11 in Bowling Green, as they did last season when the Hilltoppers bested the Cajuns 76-70 to deny them a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

But that game will have to wait. Tonight, the Cajuns have the Hilltoppers at their place.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/AB14CABD-DBFC-4C76-9461-22577CD5E8F1.shtml">The rest of the story</a></blockquote></center>Bruce Brown
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“I’ll worry about next week next week,” Evans said of the upcoming tournament. “We haven’t prepared for a crescendo. We’ve tried to stay on an even keel.

“We’ll have to turn it up a notch on Wednesday. Western Kentucky is an excellent team. They have a number of players back from that team that knocked us out of (going to) the NCAA last year.”

Standout center Chris Marcus is not back, but he played just four games this season before succumbing to injury and coach Dennis Felton’s squad hasn’t missed a beat.

“Michael Southall did a yeoman’s job against Marcus in last year’s finals, but Marcus was the difference in the second half,” Evans said. “There’s no one on their team that’s that type of person, but they’ve gotten over the fact that he won’t be there.

“They have other players. It’s not like he’s (Felton) hurting for players.”

Patrick Sparks, the current Player of the Week in the Sun Belt, leads the a balanced Hilltoppers attack with 13.3 points per game and in assists with 158.

Others in double digits for WKU are David Boyden (12.4 ppg, 5.1 assists), Mike Wells (10.9, 4.3) and Nate Williams (10.0, 5.5).

The Hilltoppers are outscoring foes 74.0-67.3, hitting 46.7 percent of their shots and out-rebounding teams 35.8-32.8 per contest. They also have hit 217-of-592 3-point shots, led by Sparks’ 67-of-183.

“Everything runs through their point guard,” Anthony Johnson said. “If we shut that down, they don’t have a chance.”

“It wasn’t really that hard to concentrate on North Texas,” said Brad Boyd, who poured in 19 points Monday night. “We knew we needed to stay focused and get the job done. Now, we’ve set ourselves up for Wednesday.”

The Cajuns’ second lopsided win of the year over UNT featured a half-night off for the starters. Johnson backed Boyd with 12 points, while Antoine Landry and Robert Jupiter came off the bench for 14 and 11.

UL buried the Mean Green with an early avalanche of defense and hot shooting, rolling to a 27-9 lead and cruising from there.

“We shared the basketball,” Evans said. “Any time you get more than 20 assists (the Cajuns had 22), you’re playing team basketball. We had the opportunity to get all our players in the game, and we played within ourselves.”

Southall, who had a quiet 8 points and 8 rebounds and was still taking charges long after the outcome had been decided, is joined by Boyd, Johnson, Kenneth Lawrence and Laurie Bridges in the lineup of eager Cajuns tonight.

“Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve beaten us,” Johnson said. “Last year we were supposed to play them at home. It got switched, and we lost by one point (63-62).

“There’s a lot going against us. They beat us the last couple of years.”

That was in other arenas, though. “It’s about time they came to our place,” Evans said.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>Every time Western Kentucky beats a Sun Belt Conference opponent in E.A. Diddle Arena, the record for the longest home court winning streak in the league gets a little more impressive.

The Hilltoppers have won 25 home conference games in a row now. The last time they lost at home is still burned into the minds of the players.

Louisiana beat WKU 86-77 on Jan. 29, 2000. When the game ended, the Ragin’ Cajuns proceeded to dance on the Toppers’ home court.

“We still remember that,” senior Nate Williams said. “That’s something I will remember as long as I am here. This may be my last chance to get some more revenge on them. That’s just more motivation to want to beat them.”

Western Kentucky plays at Louisiana on Wednesday night to see just who is the top team in the league this year. Both teams enter the game – which will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m.– with only two conference losses.

This is the third straight season both the Hilltoppers and Cajuns have been at the top of the SBC standings and that, along with UL’s impromptu dance party three years ago, has all the makings for a big-time rivalry.

“We’ve been the best team in the league and Louisiana has been right there. That makes for some strong rivalries and strong emotions,” WKU coach Dennis Felton said. “I’m sure they see it as an extremely big game.”

There’s not many games within the Sun Belt that could be classified as a grudge match, but Louisiana heads up the list.

“I would think they are our biggest rival,” Williams said. “They have a lot of tough competitors and we like to compete. Any time two teams like that meet up, it’s going to be a good game.”

To make things even more heated, WKU has eliminated Louisiana in three of the past four SBC Tournaments, including last season’s championship game.

“I suppose they have a lot of pent-up frustrations when it comes to us because they haven’t beaten us in so long, yet they’ve been a very, very good team in their conference,” Felton said. “We also ended their hopes for an NCAA Tournament last year and that only compounds the frustration.”

This is the third straight season that the Louisiana WKU game has been the Sun Belt’s lone regular-season national telecast.

But just because the game is on TV doesn’t make it such a big deal to the players.

“You gotta call Mom and the rest of the family to let them know it’s on TV,” Williams said. “But other than that, it’s just another camera.”

One thing that television does have an impact on is the number of fans that turn out.

Louisiana has been near the top of the conference in attendance all year, and will likely get its biggest crowd of the season Wednesday.

“I expect a crazed environment. They are having a great season and I know their fans have to be excited about what they are doing,” Felton said. “I think them and their fans see this as a big showdown game. I expect it to be the kind of game that you would see when it’s all or nothing.” of the family to let them know it’s on TV,” Williams said. “But other than that, it’s just another camera.”

One thing that television does have an impact on is the number of fans that turn out.

Louisiana has been near the top of the conference in attendance all year, and will likely get its biggest crowd of the season Wednesday.

“I expect a crazed environment. They are having a great season and I know their fans have to be excited about what they are doing,” Felton said. “I think them and their fans see this as a big showdown game. I expect it to be the kind of game that you would see when it’s all or nothing.”
<center><p><a href="http://www.bgdailynews.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?/200302/25+rivalry20030225_top-sports.html+20030225">The source of the story</a></blockquote></center>By OJ Stapleton,
ojstapleton@bgdailynews.com
270-783-3239

<i><center>Cajuns fall to WKU in regular season finale.</i></center> <blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — One streak is over, and it will take stopping another streak to gain revenge.

Sophomore Patrick Sparks drained a pressure-packed 3-point basket with two minutes to play Wednesday night, then helped seal the verdict with a late free throw as Western Kentucky defeated Louisiana 69-66 before a season-high 9,121 fans at the Cajundome.

The Hilltoppers snapped a 21-game home winning streak for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who finish the regular season 20-8 and 12-3.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/9C471B33-9FEB-4FD8-80E1-DD90B6BF0AEB.shtml">The rest of the story</a></center></blockquote>Bruce Brown
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With the win, WKU clinched the Eastern Division of the Sun Belt Conference.

The Hilltoppers head back to Bowling Green for a final game against Middle Tennessee, owning a 35-game home win streak of their own.


They then host the Sun Belt Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena.

If the Cajuns are to avenge Wednesday’s loss, they’ll likely have to defeat the Toppers in the conference finals on March 11.

Sparks, the Sun Belt Player of the Week, displayed the cool of a veteran in lifting the visitors to the win.

The Cajuns’ Cedric Williams had just pulled his team to within 61-58 with a pair of free throws with 2:10 remaining in the game, a call that finished WKU’s Nate Williams for the night with five fouls.

Western was running the clock, and nearly ran too much before Sparks launched a trey from behind the key with 3 seconds showing on the shot clock to put his team ahead 64-58.

Coach Jessie Evans’ squad didn’t quit, as Anthony Johnson drove the right baseline at 1:14 and hit a free throw with 28.6 seconds remaining to bring the Cajuns within 64-61.

A pair of free throws followed from WKU’s Mike Wells, countered by Immanuel Washington’s slam of a rebound. But only 17.8 seconds remained and time was running low for the Cajuns.

The Sparks free throw made it 67-63 and David Boyden made a pair to make it 69-63.

A final trey from the Cajuns’ Kenneth Lawrence produced the final tally.

The 3-pointer by Sparks, as big as any shot in the contest, was the only trey launched by the visitors after going 1-of-9 beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

The Cajuns led 35-28 at halftime, led by 10 points apiece from Brad Boyd and Laurie Bridges. But they were ahead despite being out-rebounded 21-14 by Western.

In the second half, the Hilltoppers put shackles on Cajun shooters and limited the home team to 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) from the field. WKU, meanwhile, hit 13-of-25 after a 10-of-29 first half.

Boyd nailed a trey while being fouled and added a free throw for a 4-point play that put the Cajuns ahead 46-42 with 13:24 remaining, but he didn’t score again and finished with 14 points to lead the Cajuns.

Bridges had 13 points, Lawrence 12 and Johnson 10.

Boyden led the Hilltoppers with 20 points, followed closely by 19 from Wells and 12 from Williams. Sparks totalled just 10, but had 4 of the biggest points in the game.

The Western Division champion Cajuns open the SBC Tournament on March 8, with the Hilltoppers playing right after them on that Saturday night.

As they have all season long, they’ll be keeping an eye on each other then, anticipating a rematch in the finals.
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — Western Kentucky's Patrick Sparks probably hit the biggest basket of the night, but it was play on the other end of the floor that was most responsible for the Hilltoppers’ biggest Sun Belt Conference win of the season.

Sparks hit a three-point basket with 1:36 left that gave WKU a six-point lead, on the way to a 69-66 win over host Louisiana Wednesday night. It was Western’s only three-pointer of the second half.

But the pace of Wednesday’s Sun Belt showdown was determined by a sticky Hilltopper defense that disrupted the Cajun offense most of the evening and locked down on shooters in the final 20 minutes.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/22CCB051-F20D-42E4-99AF-DB3830DA7A0D.shtml">The rest of the story</a></center></blockquote>Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@lafayette.gannett.com

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“They defended us in both halves,’’ said Cajun head coach Jessie Evans. “But we didn’t make the critical plays. We weren’t good enough tonight to get it done.’’

And, when the Cajuns missed, the Hilltoppers were there for most of the rebounds.

The Cajuns hit only 11-of-31 shots in the second half, and for the game the Hilltoppers dominated the boards to the tune of 42-28 in taking their fifth straight win over the Cajuns.

And it wasn’t as close as the final score, especially in the second half. The host UL Lafayette squad rolled to a 35-28 advantage at halftime, only to go stone cold down the stretch. The Cajuns didn’t hit a shot outside layup distance for 13 minutes in the half, going from Brad Boyd’s four-point play at the 13:24 mark until Kenneth Lawrence’s three-pointer with less than five seconds left.

“I thought we matured in a big way,’’ said WKU head coach Dennis Felton. “They (UL Lafayette) are as good as I expected them to be, since we last saw them a year ago.’’

WKU’s defense didn’t force a lot of turnovers, with both teams winding up with 14, but the Cajuns had four pivotal ones in the first seven minutes of the second half before the cold streak.

“That was the biggest thing in the whole game,’’ Evans said. “We had us with 10 turnovers in the first half, along with seven hurried plays offensively, a missed dunk, a quick three and turnovers out of transition.

“We were trying to force the action, and when you don’t do that in the first half you allow a team to get confidence.’’

Western, which locked up the Sun Belt’s East Division with the win, scored the first six points out of the locker room, and took the lead for good when Anthony Winchester’s layup turned into a goal-tending call on Cajun defender Cedric Williams with 9:59 left. That gave WKU a 50-48 lead and started a 10-2 run.

At the end of that run, Cajun center Michael Southall was hit with a phantom fifth foul on a blocked shot, leaving the game with 5:20 left and leaving the home team’s inside game in a lurch.

“We’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re going to beat quality teams with Southall getting only three shots,’’ Evans said. “We’re not gonna win many games of this type like that.

“They defended him very well front and behind, but he’s gotta re-post and get good position to get the ball.’’

Southall finished with five points, hitting two-of-three, and had six rebounds. Four different ‘Toppers had that many or more, and WKU also helped themselves by hitting 52.0 percent from the field in the second half.

“We’ve had a habit of getting into these kind of games,’’ Felton said, “but if you come out on top that’s very gratifying.’’
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<h3>Louisiana fans witnessing a win 53,249
Louisiana fans witnessing a loss. 9,121

You heard it here first the Cajuns averaged 5600 per game. If turbines numbers are correct.

<center>Attendance chart for each home game<br>

<center>Season Average<br>

Looks like the average got better and better after the second game of the season. Whatever happens this year we need to pick up next year where we left off this year.

what happened this year is that we were 1)winning, 2)playing better teams then alcorn state and bethune cookman, and 3 were in the middle of a race for a championship. I think our attendance will be up next year with the teams that are coming here and the overall talent level of this class could have us looken for a shot next season too.

tuffguy